Early autism signs?

Hi there,

I was hoping I might be able to gain a few opinions on some behaviors I have noticed in my six month old. He is a twin, and whilst I know I shouldn't compare, there are real differences between the two which has lately being causing me real concern!
I know that six months is still so early, but I can't stop thinking that there might be an issue, and I am finding myself constantly watching him for signs.

A couple of things I have noticed are

not making a huge amount of eye contact- when he does he does smile, although usually just looks away. He does seek me out with his eyes, but just doesn't maintain for long periods of time.
Tapping his left foot- usually when sitting in his bouncer
Fiddling with things- tags on things etc
Playing with his ears- no other signs of ear infection or teething
No real 'talking'- doesn't imitate sounds. Plenty of laughing, squealing etc
Not answering to name

Otherwise he seems to be doing ok. Eating well, tolerating solids, sleeping and napping well, occasionally rolling over, starting to sit.

Im not sure if this is normal, but his brother is just so outgoing, talkative and in your face that there is a stark contrast.

Any opinions much appreciated!

I'm by no means an expert, but your little man sounds pretty normal to me!

You have the added worry of comparing your twins, which I can imagine is difficult when one is doing things (answering to name etc) that the other isn't, but all babies are different, and whilst I don't have any experience with autism, the signs that you've listed don't sound like autism alarm bells to me.

Besides, six months is extremely young to be diagnosing anything like that.

I'm sure your little man is perfectly fine and your babies are just a little different, thats what makes them individuals :hug:

Have you had his hearing tested since the newborn test? It may be nothing and just that he has a more introverted personality to his brother, but it wouldn't hurt to rule it out.

My friend and I both had our babies the same week and hers was even premmie so I would compare ds to her dd a lot as they were same age her dd was talkative and outgoing and still is ds was very slow language wise and wasn't so great with eye contact and still isn't bit he has just started improving the last month (19 months old) I think it's just a personality thing

You just described our twin 2 :). Twin 2 has always been the quiet more reserved twin, she allows her sister to talk for her, always has done. She does however have hearing issues which we are waiting to fix which also accounts for some of her lack of speech, apart from the fact that its not uncommon for an older or more outgoing sibling to talk for the younger ones. Its worth getting the hearing tested periodically if he is still lagging behind his sibling, just to make sure its just a sibling thing and not missing some underlying problems.

Try not to compare them though, as although they are twins they are two separate human beings with their own personalities.

For instance, our Twin 2 had a slow start and does things in her own time when she is ready, she is quiet, cuddly and emotional, takes her time to take in everything around her. Twin 1 on the other hand is boisterous, loud and thinks she is just like her older brother! Twin 1 hit the ground running and was ready to take on the world, doing everything at least 6 weeks to 6 months before her sister. Twin 1 is a leader, Twin 2 is a follower. They may be twins but they are different in almost every way personality wise.

I was going to suggest hearing as well.

I would get his hearing checked, just to rule anything out there. But it does sound like normal behaviour for his age. It would be hard for you not to compare when they are always together, same age, same parenting etc etc. But as others have said every child, whether a twin or not, has their own personality. My nieces are twins and they are like chalk and cheese!

I would be discussing your concerns with your gp or mchn. Much of what you've described could just be personality, but it could also be a very early indicator of an asd. The raising children network website and the amaze website both have lots of information on things you could look out for over the next few months if you are concerned.