Early Signs Of Autism In Adults
Autism spectrum disorder occurs in all age groups. It is generally characterized by social and communication difficulties.
Severe forms are usually diagnosed in the first two years of a childs life. However, high-functioning individuals may not be diagnosed until later in their lives.
Here are some of the symptoms in autistic adults:
- Difficulty in regulating emotion
Discipline Issues For Children With Autism
1. Behavior Difficulties
Traditional discipline doesnt work for autistic children. They dont know the consequences of their actions. Thus, they are punished by their parents for their worse behavior. It causes more distress for both parent and child.
- Take your child out of the situation as soon as possible.
- Find out the causes of such behavior in your child by using a behavior diary.
2. Obsessive Behaviour
Children with ASD often exhibit obsessive and repetitive characteristics that can have major implications for behavior.
- You can set boundaries for the obsession. Just tell your child that they can discuss their obsession for some period of time like an hour after dinner time. They can schedule that into their routine.
- Use the infatuation to reward your child for their good behavior.
- Teach your child about social communication. It can be done by showing them that other people do not share their obsession.
3. Sleep Difficulties
Common issues that are extremely common in children with autism are sleep difficulties.
- Make sure the room of your child is safe. So that he wont get an injury;on sharp corners or stairs if he wakes at night.
- Try to find out why your child is having sleep problems. Is their room too hot, cold, or dark?
- Use timetables and routines.
- Read a social story about sleep and dreams with your child written by you over a few nights and weeks.
4. School Behavior
What Should I Do If My Child With Autism Hits Me
If youre here, you likely need answers regarding your childs aggressive behavior. Before we dive into our tips for how to stop an autistic child from hitting, you must understand;why;this occurs in the first place.
Unable to express their thoughts or feelings in words, children with autism may lash out and hit, scratch, or bite their parents or siblings. Hitting can range from an open-handed slap to a closed-fisted punch, and some outbursts may even injure themselves or others.
Many things can trigger aggressive behaviors like hitting, scratching, and biting, but these are some of the most common in children with autism:
- Feeling very anxious or stressed
- Trying to communicate
- Sensory overload or sensitivity
- Not understanding whats going on around them.
Once we understand;why children with autism behave this way, we can work toward prevention and treatment. First, we need to discuss appropriate ways of dealing with aggressive and violent behaviors in children with autism.
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What Should You Know
Autism spectrum disorder is a group of developmental disabilities that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. CDC estimates that an average of 1 in 54 children in the U.S. has ASD or autism. Lets learn more
Follow the 8 steps below for your Web Quest.
Step 1: See what you think about kids with autism. Take the Fact Checkup!
Step 2: Think about some questions to ask. Lets see
Step 3: Check out some quick facts.
Step 4: Check out some great websites to help you learn more.
Step 5: Find out about people who have been diagnosed with autism to help with your Quest.
Step 6: Learn about movies and books that can give you information.
Step 7: Check out your school and neighborhood.
Step 8: Now see if your attitudes have changed. Take the Fact Checkup again.
Develops Rituals And May Get Upset Over Change
Babies learn morning and nighttime routines with your help. Making activities predictable can provide opportunities for learning.
Babies usually flow with changes in routines such as ending an activity early or adding a new step.
Children with autism may develop rituals and be unwilling to complete a series of behaviors a different way.
If your child insists on certain things being the same and gets very upset over unexpected change, this may be an early sign of autism.
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Autism Diagnosis: Speech Problems
During developmental screening, a doctor will observe how the baby reacts to the parent’s voice, smile, and other stimuli and may ask a few questions about the child’s reactions. The Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scale may also be used to evaluate a child’s communication level and help decide if seeking professional care is necessary. Other tests that determine hearing, speech development, and behaviors may be completed to help distinguish autism from other developmental problems.
Im Not Someone To Pity Simply Because My Child Has Autism
Autistic children are writing books, making films, creating blogs, and making all sorts of other groundbreaking achievements. Yet, when a parent tells someone their child is autistic, they are usually met with an unnecessary apology or look of pity. Autism is not something to be pitied, and our societys outlook should change to reflect that.
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May Exhibit Difficulty Recognizing Facial Expressions And Making Eye Contact
From an early age, children learn to make eye contact with their parents, smile when they are being smiled at, and point or wave at things they find interesting, such as an animal at the zoo or a favorite toy.
Children on the autism spectrum have a harder time recognizing emotion in facial expressions and may show little to no emotion themselves. When something startling occurs , its actually normal for a child to look to their parent and in seconds process their facial expression to identify what emotion is being conveyed. This is done as a way to verify if they too need to be concerned with what just happened. With an autistic child, however, there is often no reaction at all, which for a parent, can be very puzzling and concerning.
Older children with ASD will often look at the ground or let their eyes wander when an adult is speaking to them; making eye contact is often a key struggle for children with ASD.
Because children on the spectrum have trouble reading facial expressions, they may fail to react or even react inappropriately when a parent or sibling is expressing joy, anger, or sorrow.
Things To Know About Kids With Autism
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Early Identification Is Key
Importantly, no single symptom is necessary or sufficient for a diagnosis. However, more symptoms do increase the potential for a diagnosis.
As well, many children display symptoms consistent with ASD yet grow out of them naturally and do not receive a diagnosis. Experienced clinicians take typical child development into account when determining if a diagnosis is warranted.
If you are concerned that your child may have ASD, an important first step is to speak with your doctor or pediatrician. Autism Canada is an excellent resource that provides information on assessment and intervention opportunities.
Assessment often involves teams of professionals working together to identify a childs fit with the symptoms of ASD and typically includes observation of the child in different settings, interviews with parents and completion of assessment tasks to evaluate a childs development.
Understanding Common Autistic Behaviors
We usually discipline children because they consciously act in inappropriate ways, whether it’s swiping treats off a sibling’s plate or intentionally tripping a child on the soccer field. However, a child with autism may not be able to control certain behaviors, and it’s important that they are not harshly punished for them. Some behaviors that children with autism may struggle to control include:
- Biting their hands and fingers
- Hand flapping or rocking
- Screaming or yelling
- Hurting themselves by banging or hitting their heads
- Not looking at people or making eye contact
- Physical aggression toward peers and grown-ups, like biting or kicking
Many of these behaviors stem from children’s struggles to express their needs or desires or understand social norms and cues. You shouldnt place your child in time-out, shame them, or spank them because of these behaviors. Rather, it’s important you work to better understand why they are acting out in this way and, if necessary, try to avoid those triggers in the future.
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Hard To Look At You And Use A Gesture And Sound
Babies learn to use gestures and sounds from 9-16 months to let you know what they want or dont want, and what theyre interested in.
It should be easy for your baby to use a gesture and sound while theyre looking at you.
If its hard for your baby to look at you and use a gesture and sound, all at the same time, this can be an early sign of autism.
Little Or No Imitatin Other People Of Pretending
They use a variety of functional actions like putting a sippy cup in their mouth to drink and a spoon in their mouth to eat.
From this, they learn to pretend in play they may offer you a sip with a cup or bottle, give Teddy bear a hug and cover him with a blanket or jiggle a pan with invisible stuff inside to pretend to cook.
Children with autism usually have strengths in using objects in solitary play.
If your child is showing little or no imitating of others, and is not beginning to pretend in play, it can be an early sign of autism.
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What Are Some Early Signs Of Autism In Toddlers
When a baby becomes a toddler, various developmental differences, signs and symptoms may become more apparent with the growing age of the child.
During their first year, toddlers with autism spectrum disorder may not:
- like seeing new faces,
- may not be able to walk, or w__alk only on their toes__
- may find certain sounds, tastes and smells upsetting,
- may fall into repetitive movements, like flapping their hands.
These signs may be more noticeable compared to the signs presented early on. However, the majority of children with autism are not diagnosed before the age of two due to missed signs by caregivers, or lack of access to specialists.
How Autistic Play Is Different
Kids with autism play differently from other kids. Even at a very young age, kids with autism are more likely than their typical peers to line objects up, play by themselves, and repeat the same actions over and over again. They’re also less likely to engage in games that require “make-believe,” collaboration, or social communication.
Of course, many children without autism line up objects, play alone, or choose other activities over make-believe. But while children with autism are apparently unaware of others’ activities and preferences, typical children imitate their peers to learn new play skills, collaborate with others, and ask questions when they’re confused.
Typical children who play alone generally do so for a reason, and are capable of joining in when they’re ready or encouraged to do so.
If your child seems unaware of other children or appears to be unable to learn new play skills through observation, social engagement, or verbal communication, this could be a sign of autism.
Here are some differences to watch for:
- A preference for playing alone almost all the time
- Inability or unwillingness to grasp basic rules of shared play
- Engaging in activities that seem purposeless and repetitive
- Inability or unwillingness to respond to friendly overtures from adults or peers
- Apparent obliviousness to other children’s behaviors or words
- Apparent inability to grasp the basics of symbolic play
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Screening Tools And Tutorials
There are some great screening tools and tutorials to help parents and carers spot the early warning signs for autism. Below are some we highly recommend. Please be mindful that they are just screening tools, and not a diagnosis.
These screening tools are a great place to start, particularly if you are unsure what the early warning signs of autism look like.
Once you have completed the assessments, you should always discuss the results with a medical professional. Its also a good idea to do the assessments more than once, at different stages of your childs development.
Why Discipline And Structure Are Important For Autistic Children
Structure and discipline are two things that both normal and autistic children need to thrive. It is a lack of adult involvement in creating a safe world;that frightens and overwhelms a child.
Though it is assumed that a child with autism cant understand and follow guidelines or rules. But most of the autistic children are capable of obeying the basic rules of conduct.
Depending upon the circumstances, those rules may need to be modified.
What happens if a child is educated without the benefit of structure and discipline? Here is a high probability for him to suffer the negative consequences as he or she grows up.
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Stabilization Regulation And Sensory Breaks
Once you have addressed your childs physical needs, its time to consider sensory and emotional regulation. Your childs sensory experiences are probably very different from your own. She is likely easily overwhelmed by information coming in through some senses, perhaps upset by loud noises, and isnt getting enough input from the senses responsible for self-awareness and regulation.
In school you learned about five senses: taste, smell, sound, sight, and touch. Two more senses are important to understand your child: the vestibular sense, which controls balance, and proprioception, or the sense of ones body in space. In many people with autism, some of the information from these senses is too much, too little, or distorted, leading to feelings of terror, pain, or disengagement.
To overcome the confusion, your child needs help stabilizing his senses. Author Judy Endow, an adult with autism, recommends sensory breaksmoments during the day when your child can fill sensory needs.
What type of sensory break does your child need?
Observe your child and see what they gravitate to when they do repetitive behaviors. That might give you some clues to what sensory activities help them regroup. Depending on your childs needs and strengths, a sensory break might include:
- spinning
- doing push-ups against the wall
- rubbing something with texture
- wearing a weighted vest or blanket
- listening to music
- taking a visual break in a quiet environment
- using an assistive technology