Experts’ research about autism reveals that the therapies, treatment and other methods to help kids with autism can be more effective if a child is diagnosed with autism at a very young age. There are several signs of autism (ASD or autism spectrum disorder) that can be seen in any child or infants below 1 year old. Usually a pediatrician is the one that can diagnosed a child that has autism but in some cases even pediatricians fail to diagnose some cases of possible autism simply because they don’t often see the child like their parents do.That is why it’s also very important for parents to know the early signs of autism so that if they detected any possible autism signs on a child, pediatricians and other experts regarding autism can diagnose the child so that treatments and therapies can be implemented. There are some iphone applications that can help kids with autism to track their autism behavior to have a more effective therapy like Behavior Tracker Pro and at the same time it can also be used as a list of behaviors that can be seen in autism. Still, parents need to know the several behaviors or signs of autism in order for them to know if their child has autism or not.
So how would any parents know if a child is possibly autistic? It is possible that a child has autism if the child is some signs in these given early signs of autism:
Possible Indicators of Autism Spectrum Disorders according to the National Institute of Mental Health
* Does not babble, point, or make meaningful gestures by 1 year of age
- from a normal infant, pointing, making meaningful gestures & babbling or also called baby talk or twaddling) is a stage in child and a state in language acquisition and body movements during which an infant appears to be experimenting with uttering sounds of language and moving their arms and fingers but not yet producing any recognizable words.
* Does not speak one word by 16 months
- Normally an infant can speak at least one word or more at the age of 16 months.
* Does not combine two words by 2 years
- Due to the nature of autistic child’s social development issue, it cannot combine two words even at the age of two.
* Does not respond to name
- A child with autism normally ignores many vocal approaches especially names.
* Loses language or social skills
- Some autism cases does not have any language or social skills at all.
* Poor eye contact
- This is the most common sign of autism; they sometimes communicate but constantly diverted to any object and avoid eye contact.
* Doesn't seem to know how to play with toys
- Knowing how to play with toys is a normal social development characteristic that autistic kids lack.
* Excessively lines up toys or other objects
- Lining up toys or stacking is also a common signs of autism and can be seen as early as 5-6 moths old.
* Is attached to one particular toy or object
- An autistic child tends to have a strong attachment to one particular toy or object.
* Doesn't smile
- smiling is a social development issue that can be seldom seen in autism cases.
* At times seems to be hearing impaired
- Because autism is a brain development disorder, there are some cases where hearing capabilities of a child is also affected.
These signs can help any parents to detect early signs of autism. If any parents detects some signs of autism to their kids, consult the pediatrician and health experts regarding autism immediately and do not implement any kind of therapy with out consulting pediatricians and health experts.
