Autism in children is characterized by delays in communication and social skills, as well as behavioral and sensory problems. Signs include regression in communication skills, disinterest in social interactions, self-injurious behaviors, and sleep disturbances. Severity varies from mild to severe.
Children with autism often appear to develop normally until they are between 12 and 24 months old. In retrospect, however, many caretakers of autistic children report that some subtle signs of autism were also present in childhood. In general, autism in children shows signs of delays in communication and social skills, as well as behavioral and sensory problems; the degree of severity, from mild to severe, varies. For example, between 12 and 24 months, babies may stop talking or interacting with others. Other signs are self-stimulators, repetitive behaviors, delayed play skills, and hyper- or hyposensitivity to sensory input. Toddlers may also have sleep problems and unpredictable behaviors, including aggression, as well as a general lack of curiosity.
One of the first red flags of autism in young children is regression and/or delays in communication skills. Most children enjoy party games, such as pie or peek-a-boo, and may use words like mommy, eat, down, and hello to communicate. When autism develops, however, all of this stops. The child loses the ability to express wants and needs verbally; the words he has learned up to this point in life may be replaced with echolalia, i.e. parroting or mimicking words without attaching any meaning to them. Eye contact decreases or disappears, pointing, waving, and other gestures stop, and the child’s range of facial expressions becomes severely limited.
A second sign of autism in young children is a disinterest in social interactions. Most children enjoy playing with other children and are curious about the world around them, but the child with autism prefers to be alone. When an autistic child engages with others, the child treats the other person the same way he treats a chair or any other object in the environment; there is usually very little, if any, emotional connection. Children with autism tend not to like being held or cuddled, but they get very excited when tickled.
Hand clapping, head banging, skin pinching, biting or other self-injurious behaviors are also some of the behavioral signs of autism in young children. There may be increased sensitivity to sound, but a lack of sensitivity to pain and cold. Some children with autism may spin in circles for long periods of time or may be preoccupied with observing particular patterns or movements of objects, such as a cell phone, fan, or even dust floating in the air. Children with autism have a tendency to use objects in unusual ways such as lining kitchen drawer lids, crayons, pencils, or toys; if the lines are choppy, the child can become extremely upset.
Sleep disturbances are also commonly seen in children with autism. They can be awake for long periods and only sleep three to four hours at a time. Autistic children may also require much more supervision than the average child and may be unable to perform simple tasks, such as putting on socks.
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