Baby banging head

Question

Hi! Would like to remain anonymous for this post because its a sensitive topic.. for me. My son just turned 1 years old. He has the habit of banging his forehead on the playpen gates, or when were in the car, he likes to stand at the window, look out and suddenly hell bang his head a few times. Well immediately stop him. Most of the time its not hard, but sometimes when he accidentally hits his head hard, he will cry if its painful. Sometimes he would throw his body back and purposely and repeatedly bang his head to the back when hes frustrated or doesnt get what he wants. But this part, I know this is tantrums.But my concern is the first part, where he bangs his head/forehead on objects, gates. Any of your babies do that? Is it normal?I brought him for his 1 years old immunization and developmental check up at the polyclinic last few days and raised this concern, doctor said to monitor because its an early sign of ASD 😢 I personally dont think so as hes able to make eye contact with me, interact with me etc. I just feel that.. isnt it too early for the doctor to say all this? The doctor also asked if my son is able to point at objects that he wants, says mummy/daddy or follow one step instructions. I said no.. and I understand and would like my son to take his own time to grow too because hes literally just 1 years old and 5 days. But doctor said she will schedule my son for another appt 3 months later to monitor his language development because its a concern. Makes me a little sad though. Im a preschool teacher and I always encourage children to take their own time to learn.. or achieve any milestone because different children develops at different pace. Any of you guys face the same issue? Thank you! 🥺❤️

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

big hug. when reading it did seem to me as some early signs of asd. but specialists usually won't diagnose it at this age. and i agree that learning curves are highly different in all kids. so your child may just be a slow verbaliser. that said, I'm more concerned about the head banging. it is unhealthy for his brain to go through such actions. it can cause physical damage altho not visible unless he goes for brain scans. but not to worry, given healing time, it will heal. (you can Google on Dr Amen, he had patients who took falls as kids and the brain does show the damage done). do consider getting a helmet or head protection in the mean time. sometimes it's always better to be safe earlier. i hope your child does not have asd. but whether he is a slow learner or not, do consider the possibility and interact with him as he is asd. take the precaution and start safe. big hug!