Early Signs
Is your child not hitting one or more of the milestones?
 If not...please talk with your pediatrician or make an appointment to see a pediatric neurologist to make sure your child is where they should be.
The list below lists some early signs of autism spectrum disorders. Some children display a couple signs (sometimes being mild autism), while others can have all the signs (severe autism).
As parents of an autistic child, we know what it is like to be given that news and all the late night research to try and understand what that means.
We try to make those questions easier for you.
First...check the list below and if you have any question in your mind of your child, then please seek medical testing with your pediatrician and a child neurologist.
What to expect?
You will possibly be asked to have these tests conducted for your child: EEG, MRI,
CAT Scans and DNA testing.
The MRI or CAT scan are to show any abnormalities of brain structure, such as fluid build up to dead brain mass, hopefully it will look fine.
A scan can look normal and your child could
still have autism. The scans will sometimes help diagnose other problems that
may look like autism but may be more severe. These tests, including the EEG
Scan and the DNA tests should rule out the possibility.
The same is with the DNA and EEG test.
Please fill out our research survey to help us try to find the cause of autism spectrum disorders.
Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders
There are some “red flags” (absolute indicators), that suggest evaluation should be done immediately by your pediatrician or family practitioner to ensure your baby is on the right path for development.
Red Flags:
- Not smiling or laughing
- Not displaying happiness often
- Withdrawn
- Not engaging in hugs by six months or thereafter
- Not imitating sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
- Not sharing, no eye contact
- Not babbling by 1 year
- Not pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 1 year
- Not saying words by 16 months
- Not saying two-word phrases (meaningful), not including mimicking or repetition by 2 years
- Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
Some other signs might also include:
- Not eating, or only eating a certain texture of food
- Slow to crawl or walk Not transitioning to new environments or tasks easily
- Seems to stare off into space occasionally
- Tries to talk with mouth closed
- Often looks serious and/or is easily agitated
Dolch words:
"Is your child recognizing all the words for his level?" If you're not sure, please click here to find out"
Autism Speaks 100 day kit:
"JUST DIAGNOSED? Click here for Autism Speaks 100 day guide on where to start."
ABA Consumer Guidelines:
"Want to be more informed of what to look for at a therapy center? Click here for ABA Consumer guidelines."
At home assessment:
"Want to see what an assessment looks like? Want to do your own assessments and be more pro active of your child's development? Please click here for an assessment you can do at home."
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