Autism Brain Symptoms

The symptoms of a person with autism begin within the brain. Scientists are beginning to pinpoint different areas of the brain that are affected, especially ones that relate to communication and social ability. For example, an enlarged amygdala, groups of nuclei located in the medial temporal lobes, may affect the ability to share experiences with others. Some of the early symptoms of autism include: difficulties with social communication and the expression of these difficulties, total lack of language and pre-speech gestures, self-stimulatory behaviors that are often repeated for long periods of time, aggressive behaviors and self-injurious behaviors, preoccupation with preferred objects for long periods of time, and preference for sameness and routine. In some cases, a toddler will appear to develop typically, hitting all of his developmental milestones, only to "lose" all or most of their development over the course of months. When a child is diagnosed with autism, the severity of their diagnosis pertains to an "autism spectrum." One extreme of the spectrum is mild autism while the other extreme is severe autism.

Communication

Children displaying symptoms that might land them on the autism spectrum primarily have difficulty communicating. These difficulties typically begin at a very young age, under age 1, and extend to simple needs such as the basic need for food or drink or attention. Their inability does not discriminate, and therefore even parents often experience frustration with their child's lack of communication.

Pre-speech Gestures are Missing

Delay in the development of language can be noticed early if a baby is missing pre-speech gestures such as pointing, cooing or babbling. These noises and gestures are an important part of the development of verbal speech. If there is a concern, the first step is for parents to get their child's hearing screened. After their child passes a screening, they may contact an autism agency.

Self-Stimulatory Behaviors

Stressed children will calm their bodies using self-stimulatory behaviors. These behaviors can vary but include repetitive motions such as rocking or continuous hand waving. A child can also spin an object multiple times for long periods of time or stare at a steadily moving object such as a ceiling fan.

Aggressive Behaviors

Hitting, kicking and head-butting are some of the aggressive reactions of a child with autism who cannot properly communicate his needs and feels over-stimulated and/or frustrated. Children will also injure themselves. Some examples of self-injurious behaviors are head-butting, pinching, and slapping his head with his hands.

Delay in Crawling, Standing and Walking

Children with autism often have physical delays. Crawling is sometimes non-existent due to the baby's lack of body awareness. The infant has trouble locating her "body in space," and therefore prefers to remain as immobile as possible. Standing and walking developments can have similar setbacks. Children with autism also often walk on the tips of their toes, sometimes due to the same lack of body awareness.

Preoccupation With Preferred Objects

Objects are often more important to a child with autism than they are to most people. They seek out specific objects for self-stimulation or in order to receive some other type of needed input. One of the more common examples includes the need for straightness using multiple and similar objects; for example the lining up of small cars so a child can run their eyes along the formed straight line. Behaviors often occur when their preferred activities are disrupted or their preferred toys are removed.

Preference for Sameness and Routine

Diverting from a routine will sometimes cause a child with autism to become distraught or withdrawn. Eating all of the same foods every day is a symptom of an oral satisfaction of a certain texture of food, or an avoidance of certain foods will indicate they are bothered by other textures. Children who become inconsolable after change are possibly showing symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder.