http://birth23.org/
Mom,
I can tell you from my own personal experience, he seems delayed, It could be as you said due to his premature birth, but I don't think so, I think it could be anything, and there is no sense in trying to pretend nothing is wrong or to try and figure out the reason on your own,
Your his mom, get moving, find out what it is , and IF ITS even anything at all, Before he is delayed even further making it harder for him to catch up.
NOW -- My 3 sons, all born healthy, thank god.
BUT my youngest had some delays,
I knew it,
I love him, but he just didn't develop like the others,
so I talked to the doctor, and the doctor said WAIT and SEE
I listened to her, and then listened to my heart
MY heart told me something was not quite right.
So i took steps, figuring worst case scenario something is wrong, and we'll deal with it,
But I would be darned if I pretended otherwise LOL
So I called on my own, ( Birth23 )
and they came and the evaluated, and they agreed he was delayed, they sent a therapist out once per week, and sure enough they fixed the problem. and now he is PERFECT.
---
Similar thing with a friend from a moms group, I met her, I I could tell something was off with her child, and I told her about my son, and then she confided in me about her concerns
She called, they evaluated and created a plan for treatment,
and it turns out because of his lack of speech they diagnosed and are treating him for autism,( this is not to say he is definately autistic because technically he was not diagnosed by a doctor, nor can he talk yet which is the number one reason he is being treated for autism, but they're coming to her house and the babysitters house for FREE 10 hours per week, and in 2 short weeks he has made some dramatic strides.
----------
So I DO NOT think your child has Autism, not saying that,
BUT i am saying he needs to be evaluated, regardless of WHY he is delayed, -- HE IS delayed and he needs some help.
that being said, I wish you all the best,
please call birth23, they'll come and create a plan IF you need one, don't wait, no sense in pretending, get him back on track, don't wait til he is so far behind his peers he can't cath up!!
Good luck MOM
M
Mother of 3 boys