Could My Child Have Autism?

You may want to consider the following. Does your child ...

• Not speak as well as his or her peers?
• Have poor eye contact?
• Not respond selectively to his or her name?
• Act as if he or she is in his or her own world?
• Seem to “tune others out?”
• Not have a social smile?
• Seem unable to tell you what he or she wants, preferring to lead you by the hand or get desired objects on his or her own, even at risk of danger?
• Have difficulty following simple commands?
• Not bring things to you simply to “show” you?
• Not point to interesting objects to direct your attention to objects or events of interest?
• Have unusually long and severe temper tantrums?
• Have repetitive, odd, or stereotypic behaviors?
• Show an unusual attachment to inanimate objects, especially hard ones (e.g., flashlight or a chain vs. teddy bear or blanket)?
• Prefer to play alone?
• Demonstrate an inability to play with toys in the typical way?
• Not engage in pretend play (if older than age 2)?

Above recommendations provided by American Academy of Pediatrics.

children and adults with autism may ...

Interact with others differently. They may appear to live a life of isolation or have difficulty understanding and expressing emotions or convey personal attachments in a different manner.

Not effectively use spoken language. Some have echolalia, a parrot-like repeating of what has been said to them. And, people with autism often have difficulty understanding the nonverbal aspect of language such as social cues, body language and vocal qualities (pitch, tone and volume).

Have difficulty relating to objects and events. They may have a great need for "sameness" that can make them upset if objects in their environment or time schedules change. Children with autism may not "play" with toys in the same manner as their peers and may become fixated to specific objects.

Overreact to sensory stimuli that they see, hear, touch, feel or taste; or, conversely, not react at all to various stimuli from the environment.

Have a different rate of development especially in the areas of communication, social and cognitive skills. In contrast, motor development may occur at a typical rate. Sometimes skills will appear in children with autism at the expected rate or time and then disappear.