Symptoms And Signs Of Autism
From A Mile To A Smile
Symptoms Of Autism
Autism symptoms emerge in toddlers around 18 months but can also be identified in primary school due to complex social environments. Symptoms include challenges in social rules, communication, emotions, rigid behavior, and learning difficulties like inattentiveness and poor observation skills.
You should feel concerned if more than one of these symptoms has occurred:
- Not able to point or follow others’ pointing (poor joint attention skills)
- Difficulties in understanding others’ emotions and expressing own feelings
- Avoidance of eye contact
- Poor perspective-taking abilities
- Repeating words or sentences and speaking in incomplete sentences
- Poor adaptive skills
Main Early Signs In Toddlers With Autism
Many parents are worried about whether their children have autism.
While we strongly urge parents to seek an assessment at the earliest signs of concern, the list below can serve as a reference to help determine if your child requires an autism assessment.
Kindly remember that early assessment allows you to identify the optimal window for your children to receive treatment as soon as possible.
While each child experiences an unique form of autism, the primary affected areas generally include:
Defective Language And Communication Skills
Social Skills And Social Interaction Barriers
Poor Cognitive And Adaptive Skills
Limited Interests and
Repetitve Behaviors
Defective Language And Communication Skills
Parents should monitor their children’s speech development, as most can use single words at 18 months and progress to 2-word phrases by 24 months.
Effective communication involves spontaneous expression, seeking help, making requests, and showing interest.
Social Skills And Social Interaction Barriers
By 12 months, children start using body language (pointing, shaking/nodding heads), engage in interactions (smiling, pointing), and attempt communication.
Eye contact, verbal language, imitation, and gathering information are essential aspects of their communication development.
Poor Cognitive And Adaptive Development
Cognitive ability is more difficult to observe, but parents can observe whether their children are having more difficulties adapting to changes. For example, does your child get upset and throw tantrums when you change the transportation to school?
Difficulty adjusting to new classes or small changes in daily life may indicate a need for professional help.
Limited Interests and Repetitive Behaviors
Parents should observe if their children engage in repetitive motor movements (hand flapping or lining up items) or speech (echolalia). Children might be resistant to new toys and have repetitive play styles such as spinning wheels or lining things up.
Diminished Of Eye Contact In Autism
Diagnosing autism involves assessing eye contact avoidance in children. A US study using eye-tracking technology revealed that typically developing children focus on others’ eyes, interpreting facial expressions and responding to changes. Children with autism also pay attention to eyes but struggle to understand facial expressions, indicating difficulty in comprehending their meaning.