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Autism Symptoms - Look for the Warning Signs of Autism
There are several symptoms that would suggest you a child with Autism. Remember that the severity of symptoms varies from one individual to the other. However, there is a common connection between the core symptoms in the following areas:
a) Relationships & Social interaction:
Facing trouble in developing non-verbal communication skills including body posture, facial expressions & eye contact.
Inability to develop friendships with children of similar age group.
No interest in sharing interests, enjoyment and/or achievements with other people.
Lack of empathy. Children with autism may face trouble in understanding feeling of other people including sorrow or pain.
b) Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication:
Taking too much time to talk. It is proved that about 50 percent of people with autism can never speak.
Facing difficulty in cracking a conversation. People with autism often develop problems in holding on to a conversation once it has been started.
Repetitive use of language. People with autism usually repeat a particular phrase again & again that they have heard before.
Unable to understand listeners perspective. For instance, a child with autism will never understand that someone is cracking a joke or using slang. They take every word literally & usually fail to understand the real meaning of the conversation.
c) Restricted interest in activities or play:
Children with autism develop a unique & unusual concentration on pieces. They concentrate on a particular part of toy such as wheels on a car rather than enjoying the activity with the entire toy.
Children with autism tend to preoccupy their minds with certain topics. For instance, older children & adults get easily fascinated by train scheduler license plates or weather patterns.
Children with autism often crave for sameness & routines. For instance, the child will always want to eat bread just before salad. He may also want to drive on the same route to school daily.
They exhibit stereotyped behaviors. These behaviors include hand flapping & body rocking.
Once you observe above-mentioned symptoms in a child, you should know that the child has developed autism. You need to seek emergency medical attention if you observe the following symptoms:
An infant or a child does not respond to people around him.
An infant or a child resists cuddling.
If a child is not pointing to objects, engaging in simple interactions or bringing items to you.
A child does not use any words or tries to communicate by the age of eighteen months.
The child exhibits self injurious behavior such as banging his head or shows aggression frequently.
The child shows repetitive behavior such as spinning wheels, turning a toy car upside down etc.
The child avoids eye contact or wants to be left alone.
The child does not play pretend games.
The child finds it difficult to relate to others.
In case your doctor feels that there could be a problem, it would be good to look for a referral in order to visit a developmental pediatrician or a specialist. You may even contact your local early intervention agency for a child under three years of age or a public school for children above three.
