As parent, it is very painful to know that our precious one has a problem. Just like me, I feel so stress and worry all the time when I learned that my son maybe suffer from autism since he has a lot of development delay because according to doctors, there is no cure for autism. But catching autism early makes difference because there is available treatment that can reduce the disorder’s effects and help your child grow independently.
By the way, autism is a spectrum of related disorders with a shared core of symptoms. It appear in infancy and early childhood in which there is a delays in development such as learning to talk, walk, play and interact with others.
Some early signs of autism usually show seen in the first two year of a child. Some children display more early warning signs at early age whereas other might have only a few. If you notice that your child loss of social or language skills during this period, talk to your pediatrician or doctor for proper diagnosis.
Early Signs of Autism
- Does not respond to his name
- Does not smile back or wave hands to say bye bye
- Does not have eye contact or limited eye contact
- Does not point to object
- Does not hold object to show people things, share experience
- Does not use gesture on their own
- Does not show interest in other children
- Does not play pretend games such as feeding a doll or driving a car
- Does not start a game such as peek-a-boo or patty cake
- Does not interested in other person and appears unaware on other people and what’s going on around them
- Cannot follow simple instruction
- Has excessive interest in certain object and become stuck on particular toy or object
- Has repetitive movements such as rocking, flapping arms or hands excessively or walking on toes
- Has trouble talking about feelings
- Has preoccupation of narrow topic of interest often involving numbers, shapes, alphabet
- Sensitive to sensory experiences such as sounds. Only eats foods with certain texture
- Love sensory stimulation such as vibrating object, rubbing hand on his mouth or face,
- Very interested in unusual object or activity
- Very upset for the change of routine
- Obsessively line up toys in a certain order or pattern
- Repeats words or phrases over and over again
- Prefer to live on their own world
Children with autism spectrum disorders have difficulty in both social and communication skills. They are often restrictive and obsessive in their behaviors, activities and interests.