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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Lack Of Responsiveness In A Child?

My son is 16 months old, and he really doesn t look at me, Or really no one. He acknowledge the people around him but then does his own thing and really doesn t interact with people even we we call his name. Very rarely will he stop and look as us after we call him. I know he hears well because when were outside he ll listen to the birds signing or planes passing by and other little noises. I try to read him books and he s not interested. I have 2 older kids and they were not like this, I would talk to them and read to them and they would interact with me and people round them, but my toddler is not like that.. Should I be concern, as to maybe some type of down syntrum?
posted on Fri, 16 May 2014
Twitter Sat, 2 Aug 2014 Answered on
Twitter Mon, 4 Aug 2014 Last reviewed on
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Pediatrician,  's  Response
Hello,

You are right about being concerned for your son. He is not responding or interacting with people. The first thing you should do is to get a hearing test done. Hearing defects are a very common cause of this kind of behaviour. Even though you are sure he hears fine it is better to confirm it with hearing tests. Also did he achieve his other milestones on time - sitting, crawling, walking, holding things etc? Were there any complications during his newborn period?

If his hearing tests are normal, I would advice you to visit a paediatrician for a detailed evaluation. He needs to be assessed for development in other spheres, neurological examination and screened for other possible causes like autism. It is unlikely to be Downs Syndrome as these kids are very friendly and love social interaction.

Wishing you good luck.

Regards,

Preeti

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What Causes Lack Of Responsiveness In A Child?

Hello, You are right about being concerned for your son. He is not responding or interacting with people. The first thing you should do is to get a hearing test done. Hearing defects are a very common cause of this kind of behaviour. Even though you are sure he hears fine it is better to confirm it with hearing tests. Also did he achieve his other milestones on time - sitting, crawling, walking, holding things etc? Were there any complications during his newborn period? If his hearing tests are normal, I would advice you to visit a paediatrician for a detailed evaluation. He needs to be assessed for development in other spheres, neurological examination and screened for other possible causes like autism. It is unlikely to be Downs Syndrome as these kids are very friendly and love social interaction. Wishing you good luck. Regards, Preeti