Early Symptoms of Autism
Autism is a developmental disorder that is characterized by extremely impaired social interactive skills and difficulties with both nonverbal and verbal forms of communication. Many people with autism also engage in very repetitive and unusual activities and behavioral patterns. Approximately 3 to 6 children out of every 1,000 individuals born have autism.
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Very Early Symptoms
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Early symptoms of autism include not saying a single word by 16 months in age, not cooing or babbling by a year in age, not waving, pointing or gesturing at all by a year in age, not stringing 2 words together by 2 years in age and any loss of language or social skill at any age. Should a parent or caretaker notice these signs in a child, she should immediately have the child checked out and evaluated by a medical professional.
Impaired Social Interaction
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There are a lot of impaired social interaction signs that point towards autism at an early age. Some of these signs include wanting to be aloof and alone at all times, dislike of cuddling and being cuddled, lack of expression of emotion, low use of body language and communication such as gestures, eye contact and facial expressions, abnormal or lack of playing skills and acting as if he cannot hear.
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Poor Communication Skills
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Poor communication is another sign of autism in a child. If a child begins to speak and the quality and content is rather abnormal, that is one potential symptom. Others include inability to keep a conversation going, repeating back words or phrases that are spoken to him, having a hard time expressing needs and wants, delay of spoken language and lack of imagination for play time.
Unusual Habits
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There are also some more unusual, repetitious behaviors that autistic children often display. Some types of behaviors to look out for are sustained odd playing, compulsive behavior, ritualistic behavior, refusal to change and insisting on sameness, very limited interests, repetitious body motions and preoccupation and high interest with parts of objects.
Other Behaviors
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Some other early symptoms of autism to look out for include throwing tantrums, either extreme overactivity or underactivity, self-injurious behavior, aggressive acting, abnormal sleeping or eating patterns, limited attention span, fearlessness in dangerous situations, either undersensitivity or oversensitivity to pain, and mood swings.
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