Autism?
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The scrunching thing is just them learning how things feel, textures, sounds. All sensory learning processes
I used to work in childcare, and we had to do a lot of learning about children with different abilities in school for that. Everything you're describing is so far normal development. You really can not tell with infants if they have autism or not. There's a reason that children aren't diagnosed until about 4 years old (unless it's incredibly clear earlier). Flapping hands and feet is part of learning their body and body movements, textures, and sensory learning. They also don't have nearly as much control as we do when it comes to large and small muscle groups. As for speaking, sometimes kids just say less. Usually with a developmental leap when their brain is focussed on something else in the background. I've known of kids that were speaking, stopped for a bit, and then suddenly were speaking in small sentences. Some kids just become quieter because they like the quiet. I understand you're worried, so keep an eye on things and at her next check-up, which I think is 12 months(?), talk to her doctor.
The doctor can go over your specific concerns and recommend next steps/assessments IF NEEDED, however they likely will also say watch and wait unless it's very clear there's a developmental delay in language or another area.
This is exactly what my LO was like at that age, he is now 18 months and a proper chatterbox, it all came back 🤍
I wouldn’t say showing huge amounts of signs. My youngest has a lot of traits (and there’s a lot more too it) however she is still not allowed to be formally diagnosed due to her age. She has multiple different things that finally people are looking at one big picture! However autisms / ADHD run in my genes so it can just be genetic for her. Hand flapping is normal! Have you had the 9 months review yet? X
Not at this stage, no. My little guy did this. Happy flappy hands. He also has a tendency to go silent when he's learning a big thing like crawling, and most recently walking. He's now 16 months old and no longer does the flappy hands and legs. Can't actually remember when he stopped doing it to be honest. I had similar thoughts too, but if they don't go away by 12-18 months then maybe consult your GP