Signs of Autism
There are some signs, that can be detected as soon as 18 months, that can alert parents or health professionals and may initiate a request for early screening.
Important Signs
Although there are many signs of autism, there are three clear key points that, when absent of the child’s behaviour, may indicate autism: pointing finger, eye contact and imaginative play (pretend games).
No finger pointing
Experts call it proto-declarative pointing. This is what a child does when he wants to draw your attention to an object. The lack of pointing in a child of 18 months is a sign of the autism spectrum, even if it requires the presence of other signs to determine it with certainty.
Lack of eye contact
When your child does not look you in the eye, this may indicate autism. But it’s a difficult sign to spot, because in my case my son made eye contact with us, and he was not looking at other people, so we have not made the connection right away.
No game of “pretend”
The imitation games (pretend) are often lacking in children in the autism spectrum’s behaviour. If your child does not pretend to drink tea from a toy cup, or do not imitate and pretend in general (sets of dolls, tea sets, etc..), it is possible sign of autism.
Other Signs of Autism
Here is a list of signs that alert you if they are present in your child’s behaviour with the three most important signs explained above:
- mutism,
- your child looks at your hand when you point the finger at an object, instead of looking at said object,
- he rotates objects,
- he aligns or stacks objects,
- he does not play properly with toys and rather puts them in his mouth or makes them fall,
- he shakes arms and hands uselessly (flapping) when happy or excited,
- he brings your hand on the desired object rather than pointing his finger at it,
- he swings his body a lot,
- he likes to be alone, does not try to draw your attention to its activities and is “in his little world” even surrounded by people,
- he is hypersensitive to noise and covers his ears regularly,
- he does not turn around when you call his name,
- you did wonder if he was deaf,
- he does not learn when you show him by example (imitation),
- he does not like change (resistance to change) (of location, of toy, usually) and has a temper when something is not as usual.
These signs alone are not a definition of autism, and can also appear for a child without PDD (Pervasive Development Disorders). They are often noticed in children with autism withd a possible psychomotor delay (late learning of seating or walking, trouble stacking cubes, etc.).
