How to Recognize the Five Early Warning Sign of Autism

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By sabrys
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1 out of 150 Children is Diagnosed With Autism

As the mother of a child with autism, I know how important early intervention is. The younger your child is when they receive a diagnosis, the earlier intensive treatment can begin. While there is no cure for autism, there are steps that can be put in place to improve the quality of life for all concerned. Some children will be diagnosed as high functioning and others will be diagnosed with severe autism. While autism is a challenge to say the least, it is certainly not a "game stopper".

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

a child

Step 1

Does the young child respond to their name?

Even as small infants, babies will respond to their name by trying to find the person that said their name. The typical baby is very responsive to their name and will often reply with smiles and looks.

In stark contrast, infants later diagnosed with autism as older children, only responded to their names approximately 20% of the time.
Step 2

Does the child engage in "joint attention"?

As children approach their first birthday, the typical child will have begun to join their parents, siblings, etc., with looking at a particular item or event. The typical child will follow a pointing finger or a caregivers gaze to an item. The child will point their own finger at an item as if to say, " Hey, look at that!" They will also bring toys to another person, showing them the toy and may even want them to interact and play with them and the toy.

An autistic child has a difficult time with social interation. They will often not share a gaze, not point to objects and in general it may seem as if they are not really "there".
Step 3

Does the child imitate others?

Even very young infants can mimic facial expressions and movements such as sticking out there tongue and making noises such as blowing razzies. Imitation is a huge part of games such as pat-a-cake.

Autistic children are less likely to imitate facial movements, expressions and sounds.
Step 4

Does the child engage emotionally with others?

Typical infants repond in kind when smiled at or engage in laughing when others laugh. When a typical infant is around other crying infants, they tend to respond by crying also. As the baby grows older, they will typically try to comfort a crying person by patting their arm, etc. It is the very begining stages of learned empathy and is generally seen in children starting around age two.

However, when dealing with an autistic child, it can almost be like they are completely unaware of the emotional feelings of others.
Step 5

Does the child engage in pretend play?

Young children love pretend play. It may take the form of them pretending to be a police officer, a mother, a teacher, a hostess at a tea party, a doctor, etc. The child will treat a doll as if it is a real baby. A lego block will become a camera or a telephone.

While it is true that autistic children will play with toys, they may do it in an odd way. Instead of zooming cars around, they may just line them up from end to end. Generally, pretend play is virtually absent in autistic children.

Comments

southernotmom said

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on 9/3/2009 This is a great list of symptoms! But also, these symptoms could just indicate a sensory processing disorder or a different developmental disability. No matter what, if these symptoms exist, the child needs to be evaluated by therapists and other specialists.

deepthinkin said

on 12/7/2008 Thanks for this important information. Grandparents should also know the signs because sometimes parents don't want to believe there is a problem.