Do you wonder how easy it is to spot the warning signs of autism in young children? Here we talk about those signs and what you can be looking for from personal experiences.
This article is a guest post form Joanna Victoria.
As a parent of an autistic child I often get asked about how we recognised the signs of autism from a young age with our son. Young children with Autism often show changes as they grow when they’re babies and toddlers, especially with development in regards to social communication. With our son we noticed signs of autism at 18 months old.
Below I’ll be sharing the most common signs of Autism and how to recognise them in young children.
Regression in skills and development
This was the first red flag/warning sign that we noticed with our son. He was typically hitting the usual milestones like sitting and crawling on time. However he started to slowly no longer meet the milestones in many areas of his development especially when it came to social communication and social interaction.
Language differences
Nearly all children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have delays in both verbal and non verbal communication. Some of the characteristics we noticed with our son were:
– Avoiding eye contact
– Using few/no gestures such as waving goodbye by 12 months
– Not pointing to show us things
– Not noticing other children/joining in with play
– Not joining in with pretend play
Restricted or Repetitive Behaviours or Interests
Autistic people tend to have behaviours and interests that others may find strange. Examples of restricted or repetitive behaviors and interests include:
– Lining up toys and objects
– repeating words/phases (called echolalia)
-focusing on parts of objects (for example, wheels)
– Getting upset by minor changes
– Must follow certain routines
– Flapping hands is his main behaviour, however spinning and rocking backwards and forwards are common.
– Our son hates loud noises and is something he really struggles with as well as the way things look, taste and feel.
If you are worried about how your child plays, learns, speaks, acts, or moves then speak to your health visitor, GP or other health care professional to share your concerns. This means you can figure out the best way to support your child and ease any worries you have.