I’m worried that my 18 month grandson has a learning difficulty. He’s not speaking or pointing or making eye contact babbling He doesn’t respond to his name . They need to get him to a doctor .

CarolynSpartan, a good rule for being a grandparent is knowing when to keep your opinions/worries to yourself - and your mouth firmly shut!

Children develop at different speeds and in different ways. One of my four didn't say a word until he was two - then he spoke in complete sentences!

Ooh it’s a grey area, I wouldn’t be interfering he’s not your child, how do you know that he’s not a later developer, children develop at different stages, he’s only young anyway, and to say they need to get him to a doctor is going a bit far, it amazes me how many grandparents like to jump right in with both feet, leave things to the parents, if there was a problem I’m sure they are intelligent enough to know their own child,

I worried about his squint and reluctantly mentioned it. I was told he had already been seen and hospital were not worried. However it's quite pronounced but I will not mention it again.

Goodness gracious, what is it about grannies that make them turn into such judgmental, hypercritical women?

Carolyn
I dont think the OP comes over as anything like the above description. She is a genuinely worried grandmother asking for views.

Carolyn wise to just wait at the moment I think.

All of these are definite signs to a developmental delay. Not pointing is such a red flag in identifying autism. He is still young though and most doctors won't even consider autism until they are at least 2. Unfortunately as a grandparent there isn't much you can do without overstepping. Both of my boys have moderate to severe autism (Levels 2 and 3) and were exactly like this.

Actually it is very important to identify it earlier as all the research shows that the earlier intervention occurs, the better the outcomes for the child. My boys get funding from the government for Speech, occupational therapy, psychology and an educator.

I was literally talking to the other mum's of my sons special needs unit and all of us were saying that not pointing was the biggest flag for us.

The parents should notice the difference between other kids when they take him to the park. If he goes to daycare, the teachers will let the parents know and do their own assessments.

Try not to worry too much yet, nothing will happen or be diagnosed before 2.