Please give me your opinion on what could be wrong with my 20 month old or if you feel I am over-reacting??

I don't think you are overreacting. Some of the behavior you describe seems normal to me...particularly playing with shoes/ignoring toys, and his change in attitude towards taking a bath. It could just be a phase.

As far as the changes in his vocabulary, I too might be concerned. Someone said go with your gut; I agree. It would do no harm whatsoever to get a second opinion.

There is a LOT of info online about the early signs of autism...here is one link:

http://www.neurologychannel.com/autism/symptoms.sh...

Just BE CAREFUL not too go crazy with information overload and worry yourself sick. It's not hard to do!

Again in the meantime, why not get that second opinion? I don't think you're creating drama at all; there is nothing like instinct. If it turns out that he's absolutely fine, then great! I'm sure you'd have NO problem being wrong on this.

Sending positive thoughts your way.

You don't mention if you are at stay at home mom or if he is in a daycare situation. I only ask because you have other things to consider if he is not in your care all the time. (children rarely are, don't get me wrong). Without all the details I don't think anyone can hazard a guess. But what I will say is trust your instincts. Get second, third and fourth opinions if necessary. Don't think you are creating drama. Unless of course you tend to create drama on a regular basis and then get a fifth and sixth opinion. Moms know thier children. I had a friend whos child was diagnosised with developmental delay when she was born at age 8 they changed the diagnosis to autism. I have 3 friends whos children have been diagnosised with autism. so the autism question is something that a doctor needs to really look into and should just say "no". Behavior needs to be documented. When you asked did the Ped suggest another reason why the baby is acting this way. Has your husband been taking care of him when he has been acting differently or has he left you with the responsiblity. It is easy to ignore a situation if you don't have to deal with personally. Asking this question is a good start. But talk to the people that you and your baby interact with on a regular basis. Has something in you changed. Did you go through something traumatic and is the baby reacting to you. 20 month olds are sponges and take in more than a lot of people give them credit. Trust your instincts, keep asking questions, journal his behavior, let others interact with him when you are nearby. Is he like this with everyone. Follow your heart mom.

Autism is the thing that comes to my mind. Here is why I say this. My daughter Marissa is 11 years old and she went through these same things that you are mentioning. She also started walking pretty well at 11 months and was also smiling all the time. She had a very limited vocabulary and still was not talking when she was almost three. If you have a Handicapped Children's Association in your area call them or call your county Child Welfare Society for a referral. 20 months may be too early, so you may have to wait until he is closer to three. My daughter also had a hearing test, which she passed. The HCA provided skills tests to see where she was mentally in relation to her age. She is borderline autistic. But here is how things went good. By getting intervention at that young age, she was put in a special education pre-school program-a couple hours a day-for two years. She was in special education for kindergarten and first grade. She repeated first grade, but she was main-streamed with the"normal" kids. Today she is in fifth grade, a high honor student and "Talks" up a storm. Early intervention helps. She still gets assistance trying to build her social skills because she would rather play on the computer than play with kids her age. If your son is autistic, things will work out, it might take a little longer than one who isn't autistic. There is also the possibility of Asperger's Syndrome which is similar to autism but I don't know much about this. There is also Einstien's Syndrome, which is a great possibility. This is where children who don't start talking until after age three but end up extremely intelligent. Hope this helps. Just remember not to get stressed things will work out. Oh yeah, Marissa knows more about the computer than I do.

Your concerns are understandable. As I read your question, I am sensing that something is not right also. Mothers will sense these things because of our strong maternal instincts, where fathers think we're overreacting. Trust your gut feelings even if your husband disagrees. Did something tramatic happen to him, maybe if he was in someone else's care? Just asking, because now he screams at bath time & when the sweeper comes on. Those are red flags going up. As for carrying shoes around, who knows why he does this, but little ones will play with many different things that aren't normally found in a toy box. Get his hearing tested & then seek more advice from other doctors. Two opinions are better than one. Good luck!!!

You are definately not over-reacting. Your son seemed to be developing just fine until a certain point and now he has slid back. Is he making eye contact? Does he smile at you? First of all, did your pediatrician even screen him for autism? To be honest I have been around autistic children and they developed fine to a certain point and then all of a sudden just seemed to go backward, atleast the ones I was around. If your doctor didn't screen him or if you a really still concerned go to another doctor and have him screened. As a parent you can never be to careful. He may not have autism, but something has happend. There is a radical change in your childs behavior. The stopping of talking is the thing that would worry me most. If your pedi. seems uninclined to help you see if there truely is a problem them you need to seek out someone else. You are not creating drama! It seems you are justified in feeling like there is something wrong.

I am sorry your having trouble with your son. The way this world is today with all the different types of illnesses and disease, of course there is a possibility there is something wrong. However, I think it is really too early to tell. Every child is different and he could be just fine. Some children do regress for one reason or another to younger behaviors. My daughter is 22 months old. She is walking and eating great but she does not speak any real words at all. Kids develop at different rates. Boys develop physical faster then girls but are slower in areas of communication learning. They catch up as they get older.

I really wouldn't worry about what is going on with him right now. He well most likely get over it. It could just be one of those phases. Keep a good watch on him though, especially if things get worse.

You've received several bits of good advice about child development, sign language to help him communicate without frustration and just waiting it out. I'd just add that sometimes children can hear well enough to pass hearing tests, but they have relatively narrow ear canals and don't reabsorb fluid in the ears after a cold for several months. This is not the same as recurrent ear infections, just clear fluid in the ears. If this is the case with your son, then you'd expect speech delay and indistinct speech because he hears everything as if it were under water. This is a relatively common benign cause of speech delay. Allergies can also cause this. Keep talking to him, and make sure you give him some face-to-face talking time so he can see your lips and mouth make the right shapes and have him try to copy you. Good luck, and keep talking with him!

I would take him to the doctor. Has he had cronic ear infections. Sometimes the drainage can cause hearing loss. I know that happened to my neice and she reacted to some of the things you speak of above. Kids go through phases. I have a one and two year old and believe me sometimes they just ignore me. Kids can be stubborn. Don't overreact too much. My son (29 mo) went through the stage where he didn't want to take a bath. I just put him in the kitchen sink and used the spray and washed him that way. It was something new and exciting and he eventually got over not wanting to take a bath.

You will learn that kids go through phases and you will get frusterated and confused and worried, but it all passes and they move onto something else.

Good luck.

You are a good Mother to watch and be concerned with changes in his behavior.

My first thought is has something changed drastically in his routine? Are you a full time Mom or is he being left somewhere while you work where something might have happened to change him?

Children at this age go through all sorts of behavior changes that you shouldn't be alarmed by. So, as long as you prove that nothing has occured that was harmful to him physically or psychologically, and as long as his hearing tests are normal. I would relax and wait a few weeks and see if this doesn't resolve itself. As for playing with shoes, both my children at that age preferred to play with pots and pans and a spoon and to have a cardboard box with a door cut into the side so they could sit in it and play car. They also loved if I put a sheet over chairs and made them a tent to crawl in and out of.

They also enjoyed playing in the clothes basket.

They learn by exploring and making use of objects around them in play. Just keep him safe while he explores and love him and make sure no one has done something to him.

If those things are all on the up and up, then just relax and love him like he is for now.

If the behavior worsens or doesn't resolve in a few weeks, then its time to see another DR for evaluation.

first of all you are NOT OVER REACTING as you are a very concerned mother,I would recommend however that you take your son for a second opinion as he may just be going through a phase of the terrible two's or it could be something else,i am not saying that it is but that the further that you have this issue looked into the better for you,your family and most of for your son. Take Care and i hope that it all works out for you.

I have 4 children so i understand how difficult it can be (2 of our children have special needs)