How to spot early warning signs of autism?
Autism is a grave developmental disorder that affects a child’s innate ability to communicate and interact with people. It’s also known as an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The condition affects the nervous system and impairs the individual’s cognitive, emotional and social skills. Early detection of the signs of autism helps to reduce the severity of the symptoms by treatments and providing learning and behavioral support to the affected child. But such intervention is possible only if the parents have autism awareness.
Early warning signs of autism
Parents are in the best position to detect the early signs of autism in their child. You can observe your child and spot odd behaviors better than the paediatrician, who does it in a quick examination which is not infallible. No doubt, the paediatrician is important but your own observation is more important as you know your child the best. Autism awareness and education will help you to understand the typical behavior and development of your growing child.
The earliest signs of autism in a child is the delay in reaching developmental milestones. As parents you must closely observe your child to see whether the key milestones of development – emotional, social and cognitive – is being achieved. Failure to reach the various stages of development is a warning. Such development delays may not necessarily indicate autism, but it definitely suggests high risk.
Autism symptoms in babies
Early detection of autism is vital to reverse the symptoms with appropriate treatment. If parents are able to spot autism in infancy, the treatment takes advantage of the plasticity of a young brain. Although it’s difficult to diagnose autism before a child is 24 months, but the signs of autism are visible from the age of 12 months to 18 months. An autistic child detected by the age of 18 months may be benefitted by intensive treatment to rewire the brain.
Babbies and toddlers with autism symptoms do not display typical behaviors, which is the earliest warning of autism. Some of the early signs include lack of eye contact with mother while feeding or not smiling when smiled at; The baby fails to respond to familiar voices or to their name; doesn’t follow gestures or objects visually; The child doesn’t communicate through gestures like pointing to things or waving at you; Your baby doesn’t seek attention by making noise or respond to cuddles or wants to be picked up. If you detect these early warning signs and get appropriate treatment for your child the autism symptoms may be reversed by rewiring the young brain.
Autism symptoms in older children
Older children have varied symptoms of autism. Their signs and symptoms typically revolve around impaired speech, language difficulties, low/no social skills, problems in nonverbal communication, and rigid behaviour pattern. Signs of communication problems in an autistic child includes, difficulty in communicating their needs and wants; problem following simple sentences, directions and questions; inability to use language correctly – poor usage of grammar and appropriate words. Some of the signs of poor nonverbal communication skills include avoiding eye contact, inappropriate facial expression, inability to read nonverbal cues of others, and unusual posture or movement style. Children with autism face great difficulty in social interactions. They are unable to relate themselves to others and prefer living in their own world. Rigid and inflexible behavior is another warning sign of autism. They prefer only specific routes to school, find difficulty in adapting to changes in their environment or schedule, and are often obsessed with certain toys or objects like keys, elastic bands, etc.
The takeaway
Parents with autism awareness can be proactive and get therapy for the affected child at the earliest. If your child’s development delays are a concern to you, it’s best to consult your paediatrician immediately. Avoid the wait and watch approach as the chances of improvement is high at an early age. If your child’s doctor rules out autism but your instinct tells that something is amiss it’s best to take a second opinion from a child development specialist.
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