Hi,
Developmental signs of autism include the lack of imaginative play and the preference to play alone. Children
are generally very sociable and like to be around other people, especially those in their own age groups.
Therefore, those who consistently play alone, and refuse to even acknowledge others, could be candidates for
an autism spectrum disorder.
Communicative signs of autism include the lack of eye contact with other individuals and delayed, or
non-existent, speech development. Many may mistake these two signs as a hearing problem. In fact, many
suspicions that lead to an autism diagnosis start as a concern about hearing. Autistic individuals usually
fail to maintain eye contact for all but a second or two and will likely not develop speech as quickly as
other children.
The speech development is a very unusual characteristic of autism in that speech may develop normally for a
period of time. However, by the age of approximately 2 years old, a child will suddenly lose nearly all verbal
speech. No one is quite sure why this happens, but if it does, it is nearly always one of the surest surest
signs of autism.
Behavioral signs of autism are varied and may or may not be exhibited by all children, depending on the level
of severity of the autism. These signs include rocking back and forth constantly, walking on the balls of the
feet, emotional outbursts, and laughing for seemingly no reason. Alone, these may not mean much, but if a
child exhibits more than one consistently, this may be cause to seek a professional opinion.
It should be noted the term autism covers a wide spectrum of disorders. Therefore, those afflicted with the
condition may not exhibit all the signs. Further, the signs of autism that are exhibited may be to a varying
degree. If any parent or guardian suspects they may be seeing signs of autism, it is critical to have the
child checked by a medical doctor, to rule out physical causes, and a mental health professional.
Regards.
