Our knowledge about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is still in its infancy. There are still a lot of things that we need to understand more about autism in order to prevent it and fight it. Several years ago, infants were not known to possess or display any autism signs. Infants include children from birth to the ages of 12 and 24 months.
Experts and autism foundations are urging parents to observe their child for early autism signs. Infants are now known to display signs and symptoms to a certain extent. The earlier autism is detected, the better it is for the child. Programs and therapies can help an autistic child develop its language, social, and other skills affected by autism.
Here are the most common autism signs infants displays:
Difficulty in speaking
As autism affects the language skills, it is expected that the child will have trouble talking. This is the most common of all the autism signs. Infants that cannot produce single words upon reaching 16 months and two-word phrases by 24 months is likely to be autistic.
Do Not Respond to Their Own Name
Generally, infants about 9 months of age can recognize and respond to their own name. If you try to call out your baby's name and he or she does not respond or react on a regular basis, chances are high that he or she has autism. But this behavior does not automatically indicate that the child has the disorder because it could also mean that your baby has hearing disorder or other problems.
Do Not Babble and Point Upon Reaching 12 Months
Babbling is when an infant is experimenting with uttering sounds of language, but not making identifiable words. These are the "ba-ba-ba-ba" and "ma-ma-ma-ma" sounds that baby produce. Infants are also expected to be pointing at attractive objects and people upon reaching that age.
Have an Unusual Gaze and Do Not Smile
Generally, infants do not appear to see people or objects and so does not make eye contact, but in infants with autism, their gaze tends to be shorter and unusual. They also do not smile, interact with others, and lacks social skills. Try to compare how your child makes eye contact and other facial expressions with other infants in the same age.
Repetitive behaviors and Lining Up Things
This is very common of all the autism signs. Infants like doing things over and over again like opening and closing a door or picking up a thing and putting it back again. They also like to place objects in a straight line like their toys or bottles and cans.
Always remember that it is important to be careful in trying to interpret these autism signs. Infants may display these behaviors but are not autistic at all. It is possible that some of these signs are due to other disorders.
Upon noticing these early autism signs, infants must be evaluated immediately by their doctors or pediatricians. The earlier the child gets help, the better the outcome is likely to be.
If you suspect your infant is autistic, seek help immediately. Early intervention programs can significantly improve the development and behavior of your child. There are a lot of resources about autism. Visit Autism Signs - Infants and learn more about its causes, symptoms, and how to handle it. Reviews on the top 3 books online about autism are also available.
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