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How Do You Know If Your Baby Is Autistic

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Signs And Symptoms Of Autism Spectrum Disorders

How To Know If YOUR Baby Has AUTISM (MUST SEE)

Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. Some people with ASD have a known difference, such as a genetic condition. Other causes are not yet known. Scientists believe there are multiple causes of ASD that act together to change the most common ways people develop. We still have much to learn about these causes and how they impact people with ASD.

There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people. They may behave, communicate, interact, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The abilities of people with ASD can vary significantly. For example, some people with ASD may have advanced conversation skills whereas others may be nonverbal. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives others can work and live with little to no support.

ASD begins before the age of 3 years and can last throughout a persons life, although symptoms may improve over time. Some children show ASD symptoms within the first 12 months of life. In others, symptoms may not show up until 24 months or later. Some children with ASD gain new skills and meet developmental milestones, until around 18 to 24 months of age and then they stop gaining new skills, or they lose the skills they once had.

Behaviour: Early Signs Of Autism

Repetitive and restricted interests If young children are autistic, they might:

  • have an intense interest in certain objects and get stuck on particular toys or objects for example, theyll flick the light switch off and on repeatedly, or play only with cars or dolls
  • interact with toys and objects in limited ways for example, they might mainly spin the wheels of a toy car rather than pretending to drive the car along the floor, or take the clothes on and off a doll repeatedly
  • be very interested in certain objects or activities and get upset if they cant do that activity for example, watching the same TV show over and over
  • focus narrowly on objects and activities, like lining up objects or putting toys into a pile.

RoutinesIf young children are autistic, they might be easily upset by change and need to follow routines. For example, they might need to follow the same route to child care or a grandparents house every time.

Repetitive movementsIf young children are autistic, they might repeat body movements or have unusual body movements, like back-arching, hand-flapping, arm-stiffening and walking on the tips of their toes.

Sensory sensitivitiesIf young children are autistic, they might:

If youd like to check your childs behaviour and development for early signs of autism, you can download ASDetect a free, evidence-based, app developed by La Trobe University and suitable for use with children aged 11-30 months.

What Are The Tell

Autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. It can be seen in all groups of age. The Centers for Disease Control states that the disorder does not discriminate between racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

Oftentimes, certain severe forms of ASD are diagnosed before the child turns two. However, high-functioning individuals may not be recognized and diagnosed until later ages in their lives.

  • The level of science,
  • Knowledge on autism spectrum disorder itself at the time,
  • Lack of social and economic means they had,

This happens because autistic adults were not diagnosed when they were children.

Since autism spectrum disorder is still, in part, a mystery, studies generally focus on where the disorder stems from to figure out how it occurs in the first place. This has caused the focus to be on children. The adults who have never been diagnosed in their lives were partially left out in the research sphere.

However, in recent years, awareness of autism spectrum disorder in adults has increased significantly. This is due to the fact that the public is now aware of the signs and understands that a diagnosis can be made even later in life of a person.

Autism spectrum disorder impacts three main areas in an individuals life: the social aspect, communication, and their behaviors.

Since we understand autism more and more every day, we are now able to differentiate and diagnose more adults with ASD.

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Rarely Shares Enjoyment With You

Babies readily share enjoyment with you by smiling or laughing and looking at you.

Some children with autism smile to show theyre happy but dont their enjoyment.

Others show little facial expression or have flat affect and rarely smile so you may not know when theyre happy.

If your baby rarely shares enjoyment with you, especially when youre available to interact, this can be an early sign of autism.

The Importance Of Early Diagnosis

How Do You Know If Your Child Has Autism

The American Academy of Pediatrics joins with the CDC in recommending screening at a young age to ensure early intervention and better developmental outcomes. In the U.S., the majority of autism costs are for adult rather than child services . With early diagnosis and treatment, the cost of care over a lifetime can be reduced by two-thirds.

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What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Asd

Every person with ASD is unique, so the timing and severity of the first signs and symptoms can vary widely. Some children with ASD show signs within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms may not become obvious until 24 months or later. Some children with ASD appear to develop normally until around 18 to 24 months of age and then stop gaining new skills and/or start losing skills.

During infancy , a child may show symptoms that include:

  • Limited or no eye contact
  • No babbling
  • Appearing not to hear
  • Playing with toys in an unusual or limited manner
  • Showing more interest in objects instead of people
  • Starting language skills but then stopping or losing those skills
  • Showing repetitive movements with their fingers, hands, arms or head

Up to 2 years of age, there may be continuing symptoms from infancy. A child may also:

  • Focus only on certain interests
  • Be unable to have reciprocal social interactions
  • Move in unusual ways, such as tilting their head, flexing their fingers or hands, opening their mouth or sticking out their tongue
  • Have no interest in playing with other children
  • Repeat words or phrases without appearing to understand them
  • Have behavioural issues, including self-injury
  • Have trouble controlling their emotions
  • Like to have things a certain way, such as always eating the same food

Possible signs of ASD at any age:

Excessive Interest In Particular Objects Or Activities

Babies readily shift their attention between people and objects creating opportunities to learn from social interaction.

Babies with autism may show excessive interest in particular objects or activities and can get stuck or overly focused on these.

This interest may be so intense that its difficult to shift their attention away from an object of interest to something else.

An intense interest can lead to skills that are advanced for their age, such as building with blocks, or learning the shapes of letters and numbers, and can be missed as a sign of autism.

If your child shows excessive interest in particular objects or activities, this may be an early sign of autism.

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Autism Signs By 3 Months

  • They don’t follow moving objects with their eyes: “Babies at high risk for autism don’t follow caregivers as they move in the visual field,” says Dr. Frazier. “They may be more intrigued by something like a blanket.”
  • They don’t respond to loud noises.
  • They don’t grasp and hold objects.

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Little Or No Imitatin Other People Of Pretending

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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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Do Babies With Autism Laugh

The researchers report that children with autism are more likely to produce ‘unshared’ laughter laughing when others aren’t which jibes with the parent reports. In effect, children with autism seem to laugh when the urge strikes them, regardless of whether other people find a particular situation funny.

Limited Or No Response To Their Name

At 6 months , most infants show an awareness of their own names, especially when its spoken by their mother.

Autistic infants show a developmental difference: By 9 months, many babies who later develop ASD dont orient to their own names. say this usually appears as a pattern of nonresponse, rather than a single instance.

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Accelerated Growth Of The Circumference Of The Head In Relation To Its Starting Point

A study conducted by Courchesne found that, in certain cases, children diagnosed with autism were born with small head circumferences, but within two years the circumference grew rapidly so that it reached larger dimensions of head circumference in comparison to typical development of children. This sign is not conclusive for autism.

It is important to note that each of these symptoms may indicate other disorders not related to autism! It is therefore imperative to first and foremost conduct medical examinations to negate these possibilities. Once this has been done and two of the above-mentioned symptoms persist over time, the possibility of a development disorder linked to autism should be investigated.

Early Signs Of Autism In Babies Aged 0

20+ Important Signs Your Child May Be Autistic

Shortly after they are born, babies begin to smile and coo at people around them. By the time they turn 2 months old, they are able to pay attention to faces.

If the child has autism spectrum disorder, this may not be the case. If a child doesnt smile, or smile as big, and is not showing any warm expression, it may be a sign of autism spectrum disorder.

The following signs can also be seen by the time the baby turns 3 months old:

  • Doesnt respond to loud noises,
  • Doesnt grasp objects,
  • Doesnt follow objects with their eyes,
  • Doesnt babble,
  • Doesnt point to things,
  • Doesnt respond to their names,
  • Cant stand when supported,
  • Doesnt babble

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Where To Test Your Child For Autism

If you suspect your child may have autism spectrum disorder, start by raising your concerns with your childs pediatrician. If your doctor determines that your child may be showing symptoms of autism, they will refer you to a specialist who treats children with autism spectrum disorder, such as a child psychiatrist or psychologist, pediatric neurologist, or developmental pediatrician, for an evaluation.

How Is Asd Diagnosed

There is no simple medical test for diagnosing ASD.

To diagnose a child with ASD, a healthcare professional observes the childs levels of:

  • communication

This could include the childs:

  • verbal skills
  • how they relate to others
  • behaviours related to their interests and activities
  • repeated actions related to how they speak, move or use objects

To determine the severity of ASD, the healthcare professional observes the amount of difficulty the child has with:

  • social communication

Medical professionals use the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders to evaluate ASD.

If a health care provider thinks that your child may have ASD, get a referral for a diagnosis. A specialist will create a detailed description of your child’s strengths and challenges. A team of health professionals may work together for this assessment.

Testing for ASD will also make sure that this is not a different condition. For instance, sometimes hearing loss can explain your childs unresponsiveness in social situations or when their name is called.

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Rarely Responds To Their Name Of Other Bids

Babies are tuned to listen to your voice when you call their name, they respond by looking toward you.

Babies readily respond to other social bids, like:

  • come here with your arms reaching out
  • wave bye-bye as youre leaving
  • touch your nose
  • or look where youre pointing

Some children with autism dont respond by looking where youre pointing but instead look at your hand.

If your baby rarely responds to their name or other bids for social interaction, this can be an early sign of autism.

A Lack Of Interest In Interacting With The World Is One Of The Primary Signs Of Autism In Children

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For the neurotypical child, the world is full of bizarre and wonderful things that they have never seen or encountered before things that naturally pique their curiosity and draw them in. The normal response to a new experience or discovery is typically wide-eyed wonderment, dismay, amusement and inquisitiveness.

Children with ASD respond to the world very differently. You might notice that your child doesnt really respond with eye contact or normal outward signs of curiosity when you try to get their attention. Perhaps they dont even turn their head in your direction when you say their name. They might not point at objects, show a normal level of curiosity, or attempt to engage you by showing you their toys and drawings in an effort to share their interests and elicit a positive response.

A lack of responsiveness to stimuli and a lack of interest in trying to seek parental attention is a pretty common sign that a child may fall somewhere on the spectrum.

Children typically learn through imitation. Even at an early age, the neurotypical child will begin copying adult behaviorsyou might catch them pretending to cook, holding an object up to their ear as if they are talking on the phone, or pretending to feed and care for a doll.

Children on the spectrum may also have adverse reactions to normal physical contact, such as a hug, holding hands, or being picked up off the floor and held.

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How To Explain The Diagnosis To Your Child

The primary rule to remember when revealing your child’s autism diagnosis is to stay positive. There is absolutely no need for the news to come across as ominous, worrying, or disappointing, and to convey it as such may do irreparable damage to your child’s self-esteem. Remember that we are living in a society where the concept of neurodiversity is gaining considerable momentum, so introducing your child’s diagnosis as a natural variation in the human mind – one that is to be embraced and understood – is often the best way to go forward. You may wish to begin the conversation by highlighting your child’s positive traits, e.g., Have you ever noticed how much more analytical and organized you are than most of your classmates? Likewise, before you reveal your child’s diagnosis, it’s a good idea to establish the concept that differences between people are normal, acceptable, and beneficial for example, you may point out that while you are good at math and your spouse is not, he is much better at writing or working with people, and when you both work together, these different skill prove to be highly complementary.

Early Signs Of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Studies have shown that autism can be diagnosed as early as 14 months. It typically appears in the early ages of an individual.

This means that the infants first year is crucial in terms of the diagnosis of the disorder.

Many children with autism spectrum disorder show developmental differences. This can especially be seen in their social and language skills. There are certain developmental milestones babies hit while they are growing up.

Parents and caregivers should observe their childrens behaviors so as to be able to catch the disorder early on.

The 10 early signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children can be as follows:

  • Little to no eye contact during infancy,
  • No babbling,
  • Not expressing emotions,
  • Not seeming attached to parents.

Subtle differences caused by autism may appear before the childs first birthday. These differences will be visible in childrens interaction with their surroundings.

When 2-months old, babies generally begin to smile at people, coo, and are able to pay attention to faces. This may not be the case for children with autism spectrum disorder. By 6 months, if a baby

  • doesnt smile,
  • doesnt smile as big,
  • is not showing any other warm, joyful, and engaging expressions

It may be a sign of autism spectrum disorder.

By 9 months, children with ASD:

  • make limited or no eye contact with anyone
  • dont share sounds,
  • dont smile back-and-forth with parents.

Before their first birthday, babies on the autism spectrum,

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Delayed Language Or Speech

Research shows that young autistic children often say and understand fewer words than children with nonautistic development at 12 months. If a child isnt saying single words by 16 months or isnt using two-word phrases by age 2, its a good idea to talk with a pediatrician.

The says language development could be uneven, with exceptional language development in some areas and impairment in other areas.

What Is Just Behavior

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So instead, lets look at behavior. Because just the word behavior is kind of a loaded term.

If I asked you to list out some behaviors, what would you list? My guess is it would be things like hitting or kicking or refusal or defiance.

We typically think of behavior in the form of negative behaviors. But the fact is, behavior is simply the things we do.

So waving hi, using your voice to make sounds, and twirling your hair are all behaviors, too.

Everything humans do is behavior.

So when someone asks, is this autism or behavior? the answer is most often, yes.

But again, lets remember the question behind this question: what behaviors should I accept, and what behaviors should I change?

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