Concerned about 22 month old boy...

[sjh914]

Hello,
I am a little worried about my 22 year old son's development.  He speaks clearly and uses short sentences, and learns words very quickly.  But socially he is very shy.  He often does not smile back at strangers when they smile at him.  He does not like to play with other children and instead will play with toys all by himself, although he does often watch other children briefly.  He will not kiss people, even his mom and dad, but he doesn't mind it when we hug and kiss him.  He has never really waved bye-bye (although he does point).  And he is very fascinated with cars and opening and closing doors, which he often does over and over.  When people come to visit, he remembers their cars and is often more excited about seeing the cars than the people!

I am hoping he is just a shy, reserved child and that he will benefit from playgroups and other social activities which I'm joining with him.  Can you please tell me if you think it may be something more serious, and whether you feel I should get him evaluated?

Thank you so much for your time!

[sjh914]

Thank you so much for your response.  I am relieved to hear your answer - I don't have any problem with his shyness, I was just afraid that some of the things I mentioned could be signs of a developmental issue.  The "symptoms" that you read and hear about are very broad, and as you know they all tell you to be right on top of it!

Thanks again for your response.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

No, there's no sign that you should be concerned. He's very young, and perhaps your expectations about what he should be doing socially are a bit unreasonable. It's fine if he happens to be on the shy/reticent end of the spectrum. That does not bode poorly for his development at all.