My grandson Jayden is 16 months old and recently we have noticed when we lay down with him to nap he will stare at a blank wall or the ceiling for longs periods of time10mins to an hour without moving anything...It's really quite disturbing like he is catatonic...he did it several times in the last few days...seems he is doing it more and longer lately...as far as I can tell it's only when he lays down..... I will be certain he is asleep and look ever at him and he will just be staring ...should we be concerned about this?

Hi Debbie:

I have a few questions for you. Are you sure your grandson does not sleep with his eyes open? Some people do and this is normal. Are your grandson's developmental milestones on target? Are his cognitive, social-emotional, language, gross, and fine motor skills where a 16 month-olds skills should be? Have you tried to get him to track visually (follow something horizontally or vertically with both eyes) when he is in this state? Is he speaking a few words? Get back to me.

Robynne

Hi Debbie:

I have a few questions for you. Are you sure your grandson does not sleep with his eyes open? Some people do and this is normal. Are your grandson's developmental milestones on target? Are his cognitive, social-emotional, language, gross, and fine motor skills where a 16 month-olds skills should be? Have you tried to get him to track visually (follow something horizontally or vertically with both eyes) when he is in this state? Is he speaking a few words? Get back to me.

Robynne

Hi
I really don't think he is sleeping with his eyes open..he does occasionally blink. As for his development I have had concerns and set them aside hoping I am just a worry wart...He does some tippy toe walking which I am told is normal for his age.....He has a few words, but no one else would know what he is saying ..but we do. more like sound made instead of words. double "K" sound is clock....he used to say car...now it's just "ca" but if I ask him what a monkey says he will go "ow ow ow" Another thing that has always bothered me is he will not respond to his name....ever! We can call his name over and over and he will not look. He brings us things and opens our hands so he can give it to us.... He is affectionate...runs to hug when he see someone he knows come to the house....he will fixate on wheels and things that spin...he has done this since birth almost.... He does not like to touch some things, like things that are soft rubbery he pushes it away with the back of his hand. He seems very good with fine motor skills...I personally thin he is not as stable as he could be on his feet he trips and falls a lot he been walking since 11 months old...and when most kids would cry he just get up and takes off...yesterday he fell right into the sharp corner of the wall bruised his forehead but never flinched....Back to my original question though....why might he do this....I literally though for a split second he was not alive ...I was so taken back by his look it scared me that bad.

Debbie:

Does he ever make eye contact with peers and family? Does he like to play with the same toy or line objects up? It sounds like he is hyper-sensitive to various textures, but hypo-sensitive to deep pressure input. Does he startle with loud noises or is he under-reactive to sounds too? Has he had frequent ear infections or had his hearing tested? Does he eat all kinds of food textures or does he prefer certain kinds (i.e. crunchy vs. smooth)? I realize you are Jayden's grandmother, but have his parents picked up on these issues?

Some of the behaviors that you are describing are somewhat atypical and "sensory" in nature. I would recommend bringing these things up to Jayden's pediatrician. If you are able to, a consultation with a developmental pediatrician may be beneficial. An early childhood intervention (ECI) evaluation would also be a great way to assess Jayden's developmental skills formally. This way you can have a team of professionals (OT, PT, and speech) come into Jayden's home environment and evaluate where he is performing in comparison to peers his age. He made not need therapy, but at least it will give you a good idea of where he is developmentally, and what skills you can address to facilitate development in certain areas. It is important that Jayden's pediatrician know about the staring in case a referral to a specialist is in need. The staring may be nothing at all, but it is important to rule out anything more serious.

Robynne

Thank you...I'm sorry I took so long to get back to this....
Jayden doesn't play with one toy for more than a few mins unless it's spinning in some way..he doesn't line thing up ...I think he's to little for that?....He eats most things ..he is not real fond of mushy foods and he doesn't chew he just swollows most of the time....he doesn't get startled easily, and if he does he ignores it and keeps doing his thing....he makes minimal eye contact....he will but looks away pretty quickly...unless he's crying and wants something then he looks you square and cries....The fact that he does not respond to his name really bothers me, not even a flinch. I know most of these thing are not major but they are things I have noticed..now I have to wonder if I am more aware because I have read about other children here with some of these same issuse and I'm just more tuned in now....When my kids were little I didn't even pay attention to mile stones let alone details.....they just developed in there own time and turned out fine....now days they are under microscopes..KWIM? I am with Jayden 5 days a week, I'm his babysitter so I watch his every move ..LOL I have not brought these things up to Stephanie (single mom) because I didn't know if they warranted the attention. She brought the staring up , so I jumped on that.

Thanks again

Jayden is lucky to have you all week. What a tremendous help to mom! Yes, it does seem all kids are under a microscope these days. It didn't use to be that way.

Please do have mom bring up the issues we discussed to the pediatrician and ask for an ECI referral. It will give you both a good idea of where Jayden is performing in all developmental areas in comparison to his peers.

Robynne