General Signs of Autism

Get on the internet. There is a world of info out there. Autisk Speaks has a wonderful site. There is an organization called Early Childhood Intervention. They are really great. They came to the house and helped with my granddaughter. Good luck - this is a tough thing to go through.

N.,
Write me privately if you'd like. I have a 12 year old son with autism and I've been on the board of directors for a parents support group. I've worked with a lot of parents over the years. I can help you figure out if you need to do more investigation and who to go to for help in your area.

They like to rock. They may or may not talk. Do not make good eye contact. Sometimes they are not affectionate. Definitely talk to your pediatrician. They can give you more advice. Those are some characteristics. No two children with autism are alike.

My son was "officially" diagnosed with being Autistic when he was 4, but when he was between 2 and 3 we knew something was not quite right. Some things he would done was hand/arm flapping, he would stare at ceiling fans alot, he would do alot of talking/babbling to himself. Also ofcourse his speech was not great either. Hope this helps

Read Jenny McCarthy's book... a Mother's Journey. There's also another book by a Dr. Firestone Hero's of Autism. I do not know if that's the correct title or not. www.thehelpgroup.com is an autism website. Good luck.

Hi N.,

Try autismspot.com for information on autism. The two fellows who run it are wonderful.

All the best to you!

T.

Some signs are: lacking oral language, failure to make eye contact with you, failure to respond to their name, lining things up in a row( everything, cars, blocks, dolls ,crayons),tantrum throwing when you go from one room to another in the house. These are just a few. Autism has many levels of severety. If you have any concerns, I would have them tested. Early intervention is always best.
~ Tess

You will often hear/read about the signs of autism. (www.autismspeks.org) I will tell you in the over 100 children I have worked with no two were alike.

How old is the child you are concerned about? Some are not affectionate and others are very affectionate. Motor skills are often affected either fine or gross motor. Many have sensory problems and may be sensitive to loud sounds, refuse to touch items with certain textures. Some do not react to pain.

Language is delayed. Some do not make eye contact, however that is not a rule as I have had many students that make great eye contact.

I usually look at young children 2-4 and see how they play alone and with other children, if they will color, behavior (hyperactive and non active), willingness to interact with someone other then the parent. (The behavior with the parent is usually different because it is their lifeline).

Hope this helps.

I would suggest you doing some research and checking with the Autism Society and other sites that address Autism.

Here in Corpus Christi, TX there is the Coastal Bend Autism Advocacy group - do a search...

J.

Hi N., if you go to americanbaby.com you can find all kinds if info on autism. I did. God bless.

Hi N.-

Here is a link to the Autism Speaks website. This will help with learning what to look for. http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/learnsigns.php

My son has Aspergers which is a high functioning form of autism. Because he is so high functioning we did not receive a diagnosis until he was 4 1/2. With Aspergers, kids are actually average or advanced in language skills but struggle mainly in social skills. I mention this because if you had told me at age 2 or 3 that my son had autism I would have said you were crazy. My perception of what autism looked like was limited to those extreme cases that I had seen on TV. Autism is a spectrum. Although there are similarities every child on the spectrum is different. If you are concerned have your child screened. It's easy to look at the list of signs and say "he does this but doesn't do this, this or this" and then feel like everything is ok because not everything on the list fits your child.

Good Luck,
K.

Autism is one of many Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Others are Asperger's and PDD, NOS. All of these disorders have disturbances in social interactions. Autism is also associated with speech delays (some Autistic children never speak). Some symptoms of Autism include poor or no eye contact, lack of interest in social interactions, repetitive behaviors such as rocking, spinning (self or objects), hand flapping, etc. There are many other things to look for. I am a psychologist specializing in child and family therapy. Feel free to visit my website for more information as well as my contact information if you want to talk more about this.

www.evemerrill.com

Hello N.,

I am a Speech/Language Pathologist in private practice in Midland. There is an abundance of info. on the internet. I checked our national organization's website and they have some reliable and detailed info. that will help you. Go to www.asha.org and on the first page it has a link to National Autism Awareness Month. Click on that and then go to "signs and symptoms". I believe this is what you are looking for! If you are in Midland, call us and we can help you too. ###-###-####. L.

My nephew is autistic and we think his younger bother is too, but he is still a little too young to test. Ethan the oldest was a little different from other small babies. He did not play with toys the way most normal children did. He was lte to speak. He did not really like to be held. When he got to the stage of make believe, he really never left. He has trouble distinguishing from real and fantasy. He would make these stories up and you could not convince him they were not real. He thought TV show were real, and would put himeself in them. He has trouble also on the social level. He is not able to play with other children very well. Lots of noise and stimulation sets him off. He would just start yelling and trowing things. He would go from room to room. In school, he has trouble focusing, reading and comprehending, and staying on task. It takes a LOT of hands on before he actually understands things. He was diagnoised about two and half years ago. He is now in the fourth grade. School is a REALLY a big struggle for him. He hates it, but I would to is I was him. He is picked on and the teachers he has had so far do not understand how to deal with him. I hope this has helped a little bit. Of course all children different. But I can understand when you feel like there is something that is just not right.

K. D

As was said, autism is a spectrum- I have four girls and at least three of them are on the spectrum and they are all different. On the Autism Speaks website they have lots of videos on normal vs autistic behavior. I watched all of them a few months ago and my children, although very different from each other, are much more like the autistic children in those videos then the 'neuro-typical' children.

My oldest seemed autistic from birth- she cried all the time, had trouble sleeping, had to be held upright with her head overlooking my shoulder or to sleep chest to chest/upright. If not like this she screamed. She wouldn't let me eat or do anything but bounce around holding her just so. While in stores she screamed the whole time. She was terrified during baths until age three. These are all symptoms of sensory problems but I didn't know that. Also, her motor skills were delayed and she didn't make eye contact or smile at me. I had to teach her eye contact and smiling. She was rolling early, though. As a newborn she rolled over the pillows and off the sofa! I was quite terribly shocked. Also, when she was born she was in the NICU and although she was only 4 lbs they had to tie her down because she would scoot and roll all over the issolette- none of the other babies were tied down. they said she was a 'feisty' one.

When she was a toddler when we left the store she would throw herself onto the parking lot asphalt and bang her head repeatedly on the ground. At home she would bang her head on the window.

She had advanced speech rather then a delay. She preferred to play with mechanical toys. She gets frustrated easily and has huge meltdowns (used to last for hours but now only 5 minutes or so since being on the gluten-free diet.) She has to know exactly what is going to happen at all times and if it doesn't happen she melts down. She requires LOTS of interaction and a lot of physical touch as she is a combination hyper/hypo sensitive. sensory therapy has helped her but hasn't made her SID go away.

My second daughter was wonderful- she slept well and seemed to have no autistic symptoms at all until age 13 months, when she stopped talking. She started spending lots of time in her crib- about 20 hours or so. She refused to spend time with us, she didn't make eye contact, she was not affectionate or relational. It was like our sweet little interactive toddler was suddenly placed in a bubble and we could see her but couldn't reach her. She didn't have meltdowns like her sister, though.

My third daughter had trouble sleeping during the day- only one nap from birth, not the normal sleepy newborn. She hated baths until recently (almost three.) But other then that she was fine until age 14-16 months somewhere in there. She was an early talker but suddenly I couldn't understand what she was saying. She went from speaking in 3-4 word phrases to just gibberish. She lost eye contact and was also not affectionate. I had her hearing tested and it was fine. She started covering her ears when a car went by or for other 'loud' noises. she started having huge meltdowns or would totally withdrawal and was hard to 'reach' when she was overstimulated or upset. She is getting better with sensory therapy and the GF diet but I think she would improve more with a dairy/CF diet as well.

My fourth daughter (12 months this coming Sunday) has always been interactive- something many drs would consider to be not on the spectrum but for autistics like my oldest, it is normal. The nurses in the hospital were amazed that she seemed to take everything in, would REACTIONARY smile, would push herself up and look around, could roll to her side. Like my third child, she would only nap once a day, rather then sleep all the time like most newborns. She cries with loud noises and hates bathing. I have to fight with her in the bath. She started talking at six months and is already using phrases like 'I did it' and 'kitty cat' and 'mommy more juice.'She has huge tantrums if things don't go her way. She tries to do activities that are too old for her (like read a grown up book or put together an older child's puzzle) and meltsdown because she can't accomplish it. she won't let me take it away, though, because she fixates on doing it and won't accept something else to play with.

She has excema which has gotten a lot better since I stopped drinking milk (I breastfeed) and stopped giving her milk in a cup.

Please feel free to PM if you like.

S.

first of all i do not have alot of experience with this just learnig through a friend but some signs would be not on age level for task like turning over talking crawling only suggustions take your baby to their pediatrician now for an early start if there is autism

Each child with autism is different. I have a son with Autism and I babysit one with autism and they are as different as night and day. The problem areas that seem to work on both of them are inability to make eye contact, a delay in speech, and not knowing how to respond appropriatly to alot of things...things that make most kids excited like a crowd of people cheering can aggrivate and even scare an autistic child. They also do not play with their toys appropriatly. Most kids push cars all over the place and fill the car up with as many little people or animals as they can cram into them. My son will line cars up side by side and make sure no one is out of line and you better not put anyone in the cars or push them even an inch forward. The little boy I babysit holds a toy and shakes it repetedly....and he doesnt play with maraccas. Also they both fight like bears when you try to cut their hair and alot of them would rather watch the credits of a movie than the movie itself. Hope this helps.