Does my child have autism? This question will always linger in my mind every time I see my son because my son is left behind in his development milestones. He is a late walker, has speech delay, limited eye contact and so on. I always worried and feel stress all the times that is why I search for an answer. Could my son be Autistic?
According to CDC, Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. It is a developmental disorder because it often starts before the age of three during the critical period of development and it causes troubles in the way the child develops and learns. The areas affected by autism includes social interaction, cognitive, motor, language and sensory.
Here are some signs of autism that parents should be ignored. This list is not an official diagnosis of autism rather this is a list of concern for parent to be noted. It is coming from different sources.
- Limited eye contact or no eye contact at all
- Does not consistently respond to his name
- Does not follow simple instruction
- Cannot tell what he wants through language or gestures
- Walk on his toes
- Does not point out
- Does not wave bye-bye at the age of 15 months
- Does not use other gesture such as shaking his head “yes” or “no”
- Have odd movement patterns such as flapping arms or shaking body, and rocking chairs
- Has severe tantrums over simple things
- Loves to line up objects such as toys, crayons, etc. and very upset when there is a change in his lineup
- Has delayed speech compared to others
- Obsessed with letters, colors, shapes, cars, and among others
- Loves on and off switch of lights
- Repeats word what he hears but not using in his own words
- Very picky eaters, eat only 3 or 4 different foods
- Prefer to play alone
- Has little or no interest in other children
- Attachment to objects, toys, schedules, etc.
- Does not play toys appropriately such spinning the wheels of the car
- Does not pretend game
- Hyperactive all the time
- May memorize nursery rhymes and long scripts of his favorite tv shows, sing entire song, labels a lot of objects but does not know the real of meaning of this words.
- Has strong visual symbols such as letter, numbers, shapes, colors but has difficulty communicating the real meaning of it.
- May interact with other children but in an inappropriate way
- Sometimes laugh with no reason
- Does not want to cuddle, hug or kiss even with his parents
- Getting up when there is a change of routine activities
Not all children share the exact the same difficulties because degrees can range from mild to severe. The presence of above signs is not necessarily that a child has autism. It is better discuss it to your pediatrician and then decide whether your child further evaluation from Development Behavioral Pediatrician.
According to research, early identification and treatment to these difficulties is important to avoid chronic patterns are established. The earlier a child is diagnosed, a better chance of correcting the problems.