Autism Red Flags
Your family doctor can check height, weight, skeletal structure and during the brief time he spends with your young child, except to note obvious physical problems, he/she may not be adequately trained to notice early signs of Autism.
While still a baby or toddler, parents should be looking for signs of ASD. If your baby shows three or more of these signs seek immediate evaluation by professionals.
Social problems:
~does not have a big smile or happy expression by 6 months or thereafter
~ has no back-and-forth sharing of smiles, sounds, or facial expressions by 9 months.
~ does not respond when child’s name is called by 10 months
~ has little eye contact
~ pulls back when you lift them up
~ prefers to play alone or with objects versus play with other children
Communication problems:
~has no babbling, pointing, or other communicative gestures by 12 months
~has not spoken a single word by 16 months
~has s speech cadence that is not normal-pitch, voice quality
~ repeats sounds over and over
~loss of language or social skills at any age
Repetitive behaviors:
~appears to become overwhelmed by certain sounds and noises
~ obsesses with certain objects
~ repeats same motion with hands, fingers, feet or whole body
~ repeats motion while handling objects
If your child worries you, trust your parental instincts and do not delay in having your child evaluated. The window of opportunity to make the most impact for a better outcome for an autistic child is never too soon but it can be too late!
Can you add other first signs of Autism?
Which signs did you notice first?
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I started getting concerned when my son started banging his head on things. The doctor said it was a form of tantrum and he wasn’t really hurting himself. He recanted his statement when I took him back to the doctor and Aidan had bruises across his forehead.
He’s always had a speech delay but we all contributed it to his chronic ear infections. We had tubed placed in his ears and even at the age of two he didn’t say more than 15 words and couldn’t form more than a two-word sentence.
When he was a baby he absolutelely hated being touched. He didn’t want his diaper changed, clothes changed, couldn’t stand being laid down in the arms, couldn’t stand being handed from one person to another.
We were referred to ECI through Aidan’s pediatrician and Aidan has been in speech therapy since then. He was diagnosed with a sensory disorder and then he was diagnosed with autism by a psychiatrist that his speech pathologist asked to evaluate him.
There were a lot of things he did and still does that I didn’t even realize were signs of autism. Now we’re on the great research adventure, weighing our options, learning as much as we can.