Signs of Autism

From LoveToKnow Autism

Is your child displaying signs of autism? Or is it all just the usual, kids-being-kids quirkiness popping up from time to time? Few cases are as clear-cut as mass media portrayals would have you believe, and if you wait until the writing is on the wall you may have lost precious months or even years that could have made a world of difference in early intervention efforts. On the flip side, the odds are still heavily in your favor despite the recent explosion in autism cases (the most common estimate is one in 150 American children having some type of autistic problem). How can you tell? Here are some signs suggesting you should have your child evaluated.

Child

Early Signs of Autism

As a parent, it is easy to get into a state of denial since the transition from normal baby to oddly-behaving toddler is so drawn-out and gradual. There are some telltale signs of Autism to watch for, however. These are:

  • The baby rarely or never responds to you calling his or her name. Even very young children pick up on their name quickly and should at least turn their heads or seek eye contact.
  • There's no response to smiles, grimaces and silly sounds. Babies are wired for doing lots of imitation -- that's how they learn! -- and should pounce on the opportunity to exchange coos, stinging tongues out and doing the usual baby-parent routine.

Simply put, there's a fundamental lack of recognition of your presence other than as a moving part of the furniture. If you baby smiles back and giggles at your grimacing but doesn't coo in response, you probably have nothing to worry about. Likewise, don't freak out if your baby doesn't respond once in a while -- he or she may just be tired! Bottom line: Look for the big trends, not the one-off oddities.

Later Signs of Autism

Unfortunately, not all cases of autism are present from the start. It is not uncommon for autism to strike between 18 months and three years of age. This nasty flavor of autism can happen to perfectly normal children, where they'll suddenly become withdrawn, lose language skills and slip into the fog for no apparent reason. This is where the aforementioned denial is a big risk for any parent; be observant of your spouse as well as your own behavior. For the child, the symptoms can include:

  • Sudden regression in language skills. Where there previously were simple sentences, there is now silence or inappropriate nonsense words. The child may start dragging you along and place your hand on things instead of just asking for them.
  • Social withdrawal, where the child ignores or actively avoids other children to pursue solitary play. A child that was previously happy to share toys can get fiercely possessive.
  • Another change in the play habits is the shift to mechanical play like stacking blocks with eerie precision, stuffing toys into spaces or color-coordinating things. Imaginary play with dolls and action figures or playhouse items are rare or strictly limited.
  • Poor emotional control, where your previously happy-go-lucky child deteriorates into tantrums at the drop of a hat for no apparent reason.

Getting your Child Evaluated

Of course, all children are different. Some come with individual quirks that may resemble one or even several items on this list. A preference for building elaborate Lego structures over GI Joe figures can simply be a great engineer in the making; you just can't tell until you get a real diagnosis by a qualified expert.

If your child does display signs like the ones mentioned above, you should get in touch with a specialist as quickly as possible. Defeat Autism Now (DAN) is an excellent resource for finding qualified doctors in your area. If there is a problem, time is of the essence for launching an early intervention initiative to help deflect some or even most of the damage. If the doctor determines there is no risk of autism, you'll sleep better at night again. So in either scenario, you have everything to win by moving quickly right from the beginning. Good luck!.

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Comments

Hi Etta, You do have a great eye for detail and some of the articles may be a little casual in tone for such a topic.

It seems as if you do have a lot on your plate and getting the right help from a professional is very important.

-- Contributed by: Ella Rain

i'm 62, in the last several years i've self-diagnosed myself of having some austism to adhd and not been able to get any beneficial help from a doctor over the years when i say i feel i might be austistic or attention deficeit disorder.....now reading your articles here, i find out about asperger syndrome which sounds closer to myself......i think also it is developed in childhood from maybe an abusive mental, emotional and physical invirnoment and now aging on top of it, which is not a good combination........20 yrs ago i started checking out on handicapping horses, teaching myself and now i know enough to make money on it but since others are still working and maybe hanging on the arm of a man...it pushed in my face and i'm losing my so-called self-esteem......and i need to do the horses to keep me vibrant to enjoy the rest of what positive may have in my life as everything involves money to survive and it takes energy to make money and to simply enjoy life....i do have a problem in trusting what i read here, is the grammer of expressing properly....i can tell it has some foreign grammer into our english grammer, such as the word "it'd".....for me that is nortorisley wrong and when i see or hear poor grammer, i tune myself out and i do not want to hear a word after that, which cause me hear what might really benefit me.........i hear a bunch of garbage, you migth say, i tune out......and there is so much of it.........maybe the autistic people are more aptly focused and doesn't want to mutlitask their brain to be just followers with so much garbage that is considered life and be mundaned to watch some of these sitcoms as they are called......i find them impulsive anymore.............

-- Contributed by: etta caroline mart aseph

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