Does my child have autism?
If youre asking this question, chances are you already have some serious concerns and that alone is enough to make most parents feel scared, bewildered, and alone.
But the fact is, many parents find themselves looking for signs of a possible problem and asking this question simply out of an abundance of caution. Thats just good parenting and its only natural with the amount of attention autism spectrum disorder [ASD] has received in recent years.
It may be symptomatic of autism if you see your child convey their strongest emotions in the form of an adverse reaction to the music or TV being turned up too loud or if adults in the room are having a loud and animated conversation or if other children are playing nearby are making loud sounds or even when you run the vacuum cleaner.
This is something worth paying close attention to.
Because children with autism process the world around them differently, they may have trouble filtering out irrelevant sounds coming from the microwave or washing machine; sounds that would disappear as white noise in the background for neorotypical children.
These reactions may result in fits, crying, anger, or even physically aggressive behaviorthe reaction differs based on the child and the severity of their sensitivity to noise.
2.Failure to Recognize Facial Expressions and Not Making Eye Contact Can Be Early Signs of Autism
Children on the autism spectrum have a harder time recognizing emotion in facial expressions and may show little to no emotion themselves. When something startling occurs [like if something falls off the counter and makes a loud noise, for example], its actually normal for a child to look to their parent and in seconds process their facial expression to identify what emotion is being conveyed. This is done as a way to verify if they too need to be concerned with what just happened. With an autistic child, however, there is often no reaction at all, which for a parent, can be very puzzling and concerning.
Older children with ASD [from the ages of three to five] will often look at the ground or let their eyes wander when an adult is speaking to them; making eye contact is often a key struggle for children with ASD.
Because children on the spectrum have trouble reading facial expressions, they may fail to react or even react inappropriately when a parent or sibling is expressing joy, anger, or sorrow.
3.Speech and Language Difficulties May Present as Early Signs of Autism
Even during infancy, you might notice that your child does not babble or coo in response when you talk and attempt to interact. By their first birthday, most toddlers can speak a word or two, but autism symptoms in children often include delayed speech.
Sometimes, children with ASD babble and coo in the first few months of life, and then cease to communicate altogether. In these cases, all forms of verbal communication and normal language development and experimentation with speech abruptly stop. This can be disconcerting for parents and is often a sign of autism in young children and an indicator that its time to investigate further by seeking professional help.
Even in cases where autistic children do speak and demonstrate pretty typical signs of normal language development, they often repeat unrelated words and phrases over and over and, in essence, speaking without really communicating or conveying a feeling, thought or desire.
Early intervention is key to helping autistic children learn to communicate, whether it is through spoken language, or in more extreme cases, through sign language or even an alternative augmentative communication device.
4.A Lack of Interest in Interacting with the World Is One of the Primary Signs of Autism in Children
Children with ASD respond to the world very differently. You might notice that your child doesnt really respond with eye contact or normal outward signs of curiosity when you try to get their attention. Perhaps they dont even turn their head in your direction when you say their name. They might not point at objects, show a normal level of curiosity, or attempt to engage you by showing you their toys and drawings in an effort to share their interests and elicit a positive response.
A lack of responsiveness to stimuli and a lack of interest in trying to seek parental attention is a pretty common sign that a child may fall somewhere on the spectrum.
Children typically learn through imitation. Even at an early age, the neurotypical child will begin copying adult behaviorsyou might catch them pretending to cook, holding an object up to their ear as if they are talking on the phone, or pretending to feed and care for a doll.
On the other hand, children on the spectrum often dont attempt to play games or occupy themselves in a way that involves pretending or imitating these kinds of behaviors, and often have minimal interest in interacting with or seeking the attention of adults in their life.
Children with ASD may also show little interest in the other children, whether siblings, other kids at the playground or classmates in their preschool. Even at a very early age, typically developing children are often very curious and reactive when they encounter other children, especially for the first time. Even if your child hides behind your legs or otherwise demonstrates some shyness or trepidation, the fact that other kids their age are eliciting a response of some kind would indicate normal development.
However, because the autistic child struggles to detect another childs emotions and interpret facial expressions, the social world can be overwhelming and their response is often to simply shut down and avoid interacting and showing interest altogether.
Children on the spectrum may also have adverse reactions to normal physical contact, such as a hug, holding hands, or being picked up off the floor and held.
5.Overreaction Or No Reaction to Sensory Stimuli May Be One of the Early Signs of Autism
This may present itself as one of two extremes: you may notice either an observable overreaction or an under-reaction to stimuli.
In the case of an overreaction, an autistic child may flinch away from touch, even something as gentle and unthreatening as a pat on the head or a touch on the arm. Others may throw a fit when getting dressed because the tactile sensation of the clothing creates a feeling of anxiety.
Some children with hypersensitivity to noise and other stimuli may react in the opposite waythey may show no response at all to sounds and visual stimuli, even things that would usually startle or surprise a child. This might strike you as so unusual that it causes you to wonder if your child is having difficulty hearing. An autistic child may also have no reaction to sensory stimuli that would ordinarily be fun, curious and exiting, something that can be just as disconcerting for a concerned parent.
Even a strong negative reaction to something new and overwhelming is somewhat normal, but no reaction at all can be cause for concern since it is one of the tell-tale signs of autism in young children. If youre at the circus for the first time and a clown doesnt cause your child to react normally by either laughing or freaking out a little, it may indicate that further evaluation is needed.
ABA therapy can do wonders for sensory processing disorders, which are often a part of ASD, but also may affect neurotypical children.
Interpreting your childs responses and reactions often requires a little parental intuition since there is no absolute baseline for normal. But if some of these ASD markers seemed too familiar to ignore, its a good idea to see your family doctor for a diagnosis to settle your concerns, or to begin the process of getting your child the therapy they need.