Worried about autism

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Ok, so this is probably another one of those paranoid parent posts, I apologize in advance if that turns out to be the case.
I'm worried about my 7.5 month old son (full term) not being very social. Here are some of the things that conern me:
He doesn't babble (does like to make a lot of noise, but no "da-da" etc just very long "aaaahhhh")
He doesn't respond to his name.
He rarely responds to our voice, especially when he's occuppied with some other toy. You have to work very hard to get his attention, and even then he'll do you us a favour and just glance at us for a quick second. Sometimes I feel he behaves as if we're not even there.
We can get him to laugh and smile, but usually have to work hard for it. It's easier for me than my husband though.
Doesn't really enjoy being held, he usually struggles to make us let go so he can go back to his other activities. He will tolerate being held on our shoulder though, provided that he gets enough stimulus from the surrounding enviornment (i.e. he wants us to move so he can look around).
Rarely seems to enjoy a game of peek-a-boo.
Makes no attempt to imitate.

Some of the more positive things...:
He started crawling at 6.5 months (like really crawling, on all 4s)
He is able to sit independently and is pretty stable.
He is extremely curious, always wants to move around and explore.
He is very adamant on progressing his motor skills - he's been constantly trying to stand up and pulling himself to a stand for the past few weeks.
He can reach for objects, pass them between hands, puts toys in his mouth.
Sleeps "ok", will usually only wake up once through a 10 hour night sleeping period. That being said his daytime naps are really short (30-40 minutes).
I think his hearing is OK because he will turn his head towards sounds that interest him (I guess our voices not being one of them).
Is able to focus on moving objects (again, if it interests him

That's pretty much it. Obviously in the internet era my main concern is autism. I know it's way too early to diagnose but I just hate the waiting game. We do not have any cases of it in the family, but my son did have a somewhat traumatic birth (21 hours in labor, vacuum assisted delivery).

Any input on this would be greatly appreciated! Anyone else have kids with similar symptoms? What was the outcome? Thanks a bunch.

I don't really see autism. Babies are different.

I see an emphasis on physicality in him. Perhaps, he'll be more of a physical rather than intellectual person. Perhaps.

He's only 7.5 months old. He's not expected to do patty-cake or respond to his name yet.

If he doesn't do any of the things you described by a year old, then I might start to worry a bit.

Have you contacted your pediatrician about this?

7.5 months is really very young. Some of what you are saying is still pretty typical for an infant this age, or at least you haven't missed the milestone by that much, I believe. Is this your first child?

Here's my advice...bring your concerns up to your pediatrician and keep watching. Not like a hawk, and not with anxiety or tension. Just watch. Babies develop differently and sometimes even early delays are overcome (my daughter did not speak at all until about 2 and did not join any words together until around three; she is now above her peers in verbal skills at the age of 9, and has been probably since she was around 5 or 6).

That being said, I knew both of my kids were "different" from earlier than 7.5 months. However, I have had other friends who had "different" babies who went on to have no notable differences from their peers.

At any rate, I, personally, do not view autism to be anything to be dreaded or feared. So while my best advice would be not to worry until you have a concrete reason to worry (my daughter had many of the same symptoms you are sharing when she was approaching 2 years old...poor response to name, no words, didn't seem to understand what she was being told, no interactive play, no imitation, etc), you needn't "worry" anyway. Autism is not the end of the world. It is a different way of being.

Some of that stuff might be worrying if he was a bit older. As others have said, though, he's too young to know either way right now.

Are you or the other parent on the spectrum? That would increase the likelihood of your baby having ASD.

@Waterfalls None of us are on the spectrum, and neither is anyone else in our family.

Don't worry too much about milestones, no child passes all of them at the appropriate times; they are merely expectations/guidelines: "expect babbling at 7 months", "responding to names happens around 8 months old on average".
Not meeting those aren't cause for alarm yet, especially if some other are 'achieved' ahead of schedule.

Now, if all milestones are delayed by a notable percentage in weeks, or if your kid is really far behind by 2nd year of kindergarden, that's where you might start seeing indications.

For now, your kid is just too young to say anything useful, so it's better not to worry; googling symptoms is dangerous for your mental state.

I agree with others that babies are all different and it's too soon to worry. However, if you feel worried anyway (and you sound like you do), a lot of very young children may have some sensory issues that interfere with cuddling and interacting. Many times babies grow out of it. Still, if you're nervous, what about getting a speech or OT evaluation. Not because something's wrong but because you aren't feeling right about this and you deserve to feel supported. Perhaps there is a way to make this special time in your life easier and happier. Early intervention evaluations are free in a lot of places including the U.S.

Thanks everyone!
I guess at this point I'll just have to wait and see, as much as I hate the waiting part.
Are there any other signs I should be concerned about? Especially those that appear in 7-12 months of age?

If he cries all the time, and can't be consoled, I'd be concerned.

Otherwise...not really.

He's sitting up and crawling--so nothing physically wrong.

Maybe he's just not ready to be social yet. Maybe he wants to concentrate on the physical aspects of things.

Thanks everyone.
What about eye contact? Even if I pick him up in the air directly above my face and try to get his attention he won't look at me. He prefers to look around. That's not to say he never makes eye contact, he will sometimes, but depends on his "mood", if that even makes sense. He gives us a few smiles in the mornings when he wakes up.
Out of everything I listed, that's actually the one I'm most concerned about (and probably forgot to mention).

Babies have "moods," too.

I would think that if he's 15 months old, and he doesn't point at something he wants, despite wanting it REALLY badly, that I might get a little concerned.

Does he focus well on other things? If you notice focus is an issue, maybe the pediatrician could check his eyes?

Every baby is unique. I wish we could give you an answer but there isn't really one. I think you just have to decide if there's anything you're having trouble helping your child with and need more expertise, or if things are ok now and go from there.

Yes he focuses well on other things that interest him. It just so happens to be that we're not one of those, unfortunately...
Ever since he got mobile he just wants to go go go, I think he sees staring at us as a waste of his time, lol.
But in all seriousness, that's why I'm concerned - that he finds his surroundings more interesting than his parents.
I'm not offended (OK, maybe just a little bit, I was expecting to have a stronger bond with him), just worried.

He is so little. Doesn't he let you cuddle or rock him when he's tired or upset?

Yes. He is more tolerant to us cuddling him when tired or upset.
If he hurt himself accidentally and cries, we pick him up he seems comforted by it and he calms down.