scared-newborn & lack of eye contact

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-15-2006
scared-newborn & lack of eye contact
3
Fri, 01-05-2007 - 9:13am

Hello,

I am the mother of a 5 week old, he was born 5 weeks prematurely so it is only in the last 2 weeks that he has alert periods. Both my husband and I have noticed that he will not make eye contact with us - instead he averts his eyes left and right, but it is hard to get him to look at our faces.

I mentioned this to the pediatrician today by phone and he said it is not normal, and wants to see the baby on monday. We are really scared. Could this be sign of autism or PDD? What are other symptoms in a newborn?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-25-2003
Fri, 01-05-2007 - 10:20am

Hello and welcome.


I am no expert on newborn development, but I can tell you my experience:


My boy made eye-contact as an infant.

-Paula

visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-30-2003
Fri, 01-05-2007 - 11:21am
My son was 4 weeks early and did not make eye contact ( still has poor eye contact at age 2). This was my first red flag. I had him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician when he was 4 months old. A developmental nurse that I have been working with did tell me once not to worry about eye contact until after 6 months b/c some babies have a hard time processing all the facial information. Sorry, I'm not much help. But don't do what I did. Don't freak out and not enjoy him as a baby. It might be wise later on down the road to have his vision checked. Could be something with that. But big hugs. YOu will find tons of great support on this board if need be.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 01-05-2007 - 2:20pm

Ya know, I am not sure what is normal and then add on top that your ds is also a premie which means he would be newborn now if you went to term, correct?

I recently had a friend go through a very long scary process with a premie. Some things I remember from what she told me was the amount of sensory overstimulation that those newborns have to deal with. She even mentioned that her son was extremely sensitive to all touch for a while and she thought he was going to be on the spectrum. Now as he moves toward 5 months old I believe, he is much more on track and able to deal with sensory stuff and appears to be more and more a typical baby.

She did tell me that even toddlers who spent thier first months in the NICU will respond negatively to that environment as though they remember it. It is a traumatic experience. Therefore if a new born has some sensitivities at first I don't think it would be unheard of.

I think with a premie it is still a bit early to worry about autism. It is worth keeping an eye on his development since premies can be more susceptable to developmental issues and I would keep an eye on it but with your sons history I would think it is definitely too early to tell if he would be on the spectrum.

BTW, this friend I spoke of specializes in autism and autism spectrum disorders. She is a diagnostcian who is very well respected in our area. Even though her own son showed signs early on it was even too early for her to tell if he would be on the spectrum and she says it still is. He is an active guy and she says he will likely have sensory issues and some hyperactivity going on, but she can't tell anything past that and with him it is still too early to tell if it will be anything which rises to the level of a disorder.

As for your questions of symptoms in a newborn, there still are no definitives on that those there are loads of studies being done right now. There was one on imitation and young babies but it is still hard to say for sure that it will be diagnostic. Some of the symptoms parents see in thier newborn can also be said for children who are typical. And some babies who appear completely typical turn out to be autistic.

Renee

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