I was on Tumblr last night when I saw someone post a list of "red flags" that may be indicators of autism, with certain signs bolded or italicized to show signs that her nephew exhibited. It never occurred to me until I saw this list, but Carter exhibits quite a few of these signs. I started looking into it a little more last night (though it was already midnight by that point, so I haven't done too much reading on it yet), and I found this list of red flags, which now that I look at it more, I think it's actually the same list she used. I'll do as she did and bold signs that I think apply to Carter and italicize ones that may or may not apply. For instance, one of them is "Doesn't follow directions" and well, Carter does know and follow certain directions (like "open" or "close" the door), but not consistently, so that one would be italicized. Here we go.

• Does not consistently respond to his/her name.
• Cannot tell you what he/she wants with words or gestures.
• Doesn’t follow directions.
• Seems to be deaf at times.
• Seems to hear sometimes, but not others.
• Doesn’t point or wave bye-bye (past 15 months) or use other gestures such as shaking his head “yes” or “no” appropriately and back and forth in conversation.
• Used to say a few words or babble, but now he/she doesn’t.
• Throws intense or violent tantrums.
• Has odd movement patterns such as flapping arms or shaking body, especially when excited.
• Shows other odd visual behaviors such as staring repeatedly at spinning wheels on a toy or shifting his eyes to the side as he runs.
• Seems hyperactive much of the time; is always “on the go.”
• Is often uncooperative or oppositional during daily routines.
• Doesn’t know how to play with toys. Might spin or line them up excessively.
• Doesn’t smile when smiled at.
• Doesn’t make eye contact. He/she seems to look right through/past you.
• Gets “stuck” on things over and over and can’t move on to other things.
• Seems to prefer to play alone.
• Gets things for him/herself only without asking for help.
• Is very independent for his/her age.
• Seems to be in his/her “own world.”
• Seems to tune people out.
• Shows very little interest in other children.
• Or may interact inappropriately with other children.
• Walks on his/her toes.
• Shows unusual attachments to toys, objects, or schedules (i.e., always holding a string or having to put socks on before pants).
• Spends a lot of time lining things up or putting things in a certain order and gets upset if this is disrupted.
• Has delayed speech-language skills when compared to other children of the same age.
• Memorizes and quotes long scripts of favorite TV shows, sing entire songs, or label lots of objects, but he/she uses very few “real” or meaningful words to ask for things or participate in conversation.
• Repeats what he/she hears rather than using words on his own.
• Learns to read at age 2 or 3 (or has a very strong interest in visual symbols such as letters and numbers), but has difficulty communicating with others in a meaningful way.
• Is a very picky eater. May eat only 3 or 4 different foods.

So there's that. Now obviously I'm not saying outright that my son does or does not have autism, or even that he may be autistic. But I am concerned about the number of indicators that seem to apply to him. And of course, some of them, such as "Has delayed speech-language skills when compared to other children of the same age." may prove to not apply to him. It could be that he, as other children have, is just taking his time or just isn't really interested in communication at this point. When I've talked about my concerns about Carter not speaking yet over on my main blog, I've had lots of people tell me that their children/other children in their lives didn't talk until "later" because, well, they just didn't. Children develop at different paces, and I've read that it's not uncommon for boys to start talking "later" than girls, closer to around 18-24 months. So things like that may end up not applying to him, but for the time being I've marked them as "maybes". I'm going to take this list with us to his next pediatrician appointment, later this month, and talk to her about these indicators, see what she thinks, maybe get a second opinion elsewhere, and go from there.