Toddler age is typically 12 to 24 months. This is when the first symptoms of autism are most frequently noticed.
When he was a toddler, my child did not grip when I held him as my first two did. He was dead weight. From the time he very small,as young as four months, he did not like switching from long sleeves to short. He avoided eye contact from the time he was born. Typical children seek eye contact. We felt that he did not need us in any emotional way like our first two did. He was very content with himself except to be fed and changed. He hummed himself to sleep from the time he was a few months old. He never seemed to take information in by observing. Everything we taught him had to be hand over hand.
ResponseSomeone with autism can be highly functional and write about autism, or he or she can be severely disabled and need total care. And everywhere in between. Some early symptoms can be early speech, then not a word thereafter. Other symptoms include lack of eye contact, lack of affection (hugging them is actually "painful",) "flipping or flapping" their hands or objects, crying and being self abusive, obsessed with certain objects or activities, repetitive behaviors, not meeting "normal" milestones, odd eating rituals (will eat only 3-4 food items) and many other behaviors. There is no magic cure. Do some research, love your child and work to have them achieve what "professionals" say they will never do.
ResponseOk I am not an expert but I do have a child that was diagnosed on the spectrum and is almost fully recovered. I feel that the above answer is very misleading. There are degrees of autism from mild or high functioning to severe. And yes there is no "magical Cure" but a child can recover. Children with autism do not make eye contact, but some of them do show emotion and some do develop language.
My personal belief is the some children with autism have been injured by a variety of factors in their environment. For example, with my child it was partly genetics, he was born with a compromised immune system, then he had RSV Virus as an infant, he was given too many antibiotics as a baby for various ear infection to the point where he bled out of his colon and the vaccines were the final attack on his system. Basically, like a computer, he crashed and his systems (primarily his brain function and nervous system) just couldn't take any more.
My baby was saying some words at 6 months , he was making eye contact and pointing at objects. At 18 months however, the language disappeared as did the eye contact, he was ritualistic and repetitive For instance, he loved anything that spun and could sit and spin objects for hours. Ceiling fans fascinated him.
His twin brother was right on target and so I became frantic when in my heart I knew what was going on. I was devastated when I got the diagnosis but determined not to let him stay this way. First he began intense therapy of about 30 hours a week of ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis - this is a miracle worker), Speech and Occupational Therapy. I started to research and read everything I could and found out about special diets such as the gluten free / caesin free diet. This did not work for my son (it doesn't work for every child and it is a miracle with some children). I learned about vitamins, probiotics and supplements. I started him on supplements as soon as I could and this was the turning point for my son. Amongst the supplements that I gave him, I purchased this really expensive juice called Mon Avie which has antioxidants and phytonutrients (the original formula) and saw subtle improvement. Then I started him on DMG and Acidophilus and saw some pretty significant change. I am going to try a vitamin supplement now called Super Nuthera from Kirkman Labs (they will happily guide you and answer questions). I also want to start methyl B12 vitamin strips. One thing at a time.
Today he is a happy vibrant 3 year old who attends a typical nursery school with some support which we hope will not be needed soon. He talks and has an amazing personality. He loves to be hugged and kissed and thank God because I just can't get enough. He even has a best friend and loves to play with the children at school. I thank God every day because without God and his guidance he wouldn't be where he is today.
My suggestion to you is to pray for guidance and then read the 2 Jenny McCarthy books "Louder than Words" and "Mother Warriors". They were a big help and gave me a starting point. Contact a Rescue Angel on generationrescue.org and log on to defeatautismnow.com. Do a Google.com search for autism recovery and it will provide you much valuable information. Please keep the faith and God will guide you...AUTISM IS REVERSABLE...RECOVERY IS ATTAINABLE...Good luck and God speed!
I don't agree with the response above where the person said "Children with autism do not make eye contact". That is VERY misleading. People should get their facts straight before they type something that is FALSE! Yes, it is true that some children with autism don't make any/little eye contact, but there are plenty of children with autism that do make eye contact. Same with smiling and laughing - some children with ASD don't smile and laugh, but some do. Autism is hard to diagnose which is why a child is usually over 18 months before they get suspected of having autism. For one thing, every baby develop at different rates - some are fast and some are slow. I think everyone is getting freaked out over autism. A baby who doesn't smile does not equal autism. A baby that doesn't have good eye contact doesn't equal autism. A baby that doesn't start talking til almost 3 doesn't equal autism. A combination of these may equal autism. I know that there are red flags from as young as maybe 6 months, but just because there are red flags doesn't mean your child has autism. I personally believe that unless a child has severe autism, you can't know if they have it til they are around 2. A child that is severely autistic I think will show so many symptoms such as lack of eye contact, not interested in people, obsessing over certain objects, wants to be alone all the time, and acts deaf. If a baby under 1 shows most/all of the symptoms above, then be worried and concerned.The simplest identifier is they do not turn their head when their name is called. Other normal babies look up from what they are doing when their name is called; autistics don't. When my child was born he would not even open his eyes to look at us. He sucked on his hand and hummed from the moment he was born. As the weeks and months passed he displayed behavior that was different from other children. He never anticipated that food was coming. Typical babies stop crying when you pick them up to feed or change them because they learn that care is coming. My first two anticipated that care was coming. My autistic child did not. When he was a toddler he did not grip when I held him as my first two did. He was dead weight. From the time he very small,as young as four months, he did not like switching from long sleeves to short. He avoided eye contact from the time he was born. Typical children seek eye contact. We felt that he did not need us in any emotional way like our first two did. He was very content with himself except to be fed and changed. He hummed himself to sleep from the time he was a few months old. He never seemed to take information in by observing. Everything we taught him had to be hand over hand. AUTISM is also called "Autism Spectrum" because someone with autism can be highly intelligent and author books on autism, or they can be severely disabled and need total care. And everywhere in between. Some early symptoms can be early speech, then not a word thereafter. Other symptoms include lack of eye contact, lack of affection (hugging them is actually "painful",) "flipping or flapping" their hands or objects, crying and being self abusive, obsessed with certain objects or activities, repetitive behaviors, not meeting "normal" milestones, odd eating rituals (will eat only 3-4 food items) and many other behaviors. There is no magic cure. Do some research, love your child and work to have them achieve what "professionals" say they will never do. On a recent course I learnt that a severally autistic child lives completely in their own world. they are usually unaware of their surroundings and people are just objects. They learn to 'use' people to get what ever it is they need but they do not usually form any type of bond. There is little eye contact and they be obsessive with objects. some autistic children can speak, other will not, but as a parent you may be able to teach your own method of communication, so that it is easier for the child to 'communicate' their needs and for you to understand them. An autistic child needs to have a very structured routine. They only feel safe when they know what is coming next. When learning a new routine it may be useful to carry out the same procedure many many times in different rooms as autistic children do not generalise (they dont take what they have learnt to any other place other than the place it was learnt in). establish routines and stick to them. do not introduce new things until complete familiarity has been establised Be patient, improvements will happen, really hope that this helps. I feel that the above answer is very misleading. There are degrees of Autism from mild or high functioning to severe. And yes there is no "magical Cure" but a child can recover. Children with Autism do not make eye contact, but some of them do show emotion and some do develop language. My personal belief is the some children with Austim have been injured by a variety of factors in there environment. For example, with my child it was partly genetics, he was born with a compromised immune system, then he had RSV Virus as an infant, he was given too many antibiotics as a baby for various ear infection to the point where he bled out of his colon and the vacines were the final attack on his system. Basically, like a computer, he crashed and his systems (primarily his brain function and nervous system) just couldn't take any more. My baby was saying some words at 6 months , he was making eye contact and pointing at objects. At 18 months however, the language disappeared as did the eye contact, he was ritualistic and repetative For instance, he loved anything that spun and could sit and spin objects for hours. Ceiling fans facinated him. His twin brother was right on target and so I became frantic when in my heart I new what was going on. I was devasted when I got the diagnosis but determined not to let him stay this way. First he began intense therapy of about 30 hours a week of ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis - this is a miracle worker), Speech and Occupational Therapy. I started to research and read everything I could and found out about special diets such as the gluten free / caesin free diet. This did not work for my son (it doesn't work for every child and its a miracle with some children). I learned about vitamins, probiotics and supplements. I started him on supplements as soon as I could and this was the turning point for my son. Amongst the supplements that I gave him, I purchased this really expensive juice called Mon Avie which has antioxidants and phytonutrients (the original formula) and saw subtle improvement. Then I started him on DMG and Acidophilus and saw some pretty significant change. I am going to try a vitamin supplement now called Super Nuthera from Kirkman Labs (they will happily guide you and answer questions). I also want to start methyl B12 vitamin strips. One thing at a time. Today he is a happy vibrant 3 year old who attends a typical nursery school with some support which we hope will not be needed soon. He talks and has an amazing personality.
Between two and three years of age, children show impairment in language development, especially comprehension; unusual language usage; poor response to name calling; deficient non-verbal communication.
May not keep eye contact or makes little or no eye contact.
Shows no or less response to a parent's smile or other facial expressions.
May not look at objects or events a parent is looking at or pointing to.
May not point to objects or events to get a parent to look at them.
one of them is when you call their name alot of the times they will not respond....depending on how old they are
drown them
Fascination in objects is a big one, among other things, the inability to understand, when you call their name they don't turn their head (that one isn't reliable).
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurological variation, that is a difference in the brain from other neurologies or from neurotypical neurology which is seen as 'normal'. Autism is defined by social and communication differences, also other symptoms include sensory issues and executive dysfunction.
There is a particular group of people that have autism: Autistic people! Autism does tend to be more commonly found in males, however often autism symptoms show differently in females and females are better at hiding their symptoms so it may be that autism is just underdiagnosed in females.
There are many helpful sites on-line that have great information about the symptoms of Autism as well as information on how to cope with the condition. For great information you can check out the Autism Speaks page.
no. there are many other symptoms though.
Autism first appeared in the DSM in 1952 but only to describe symptoms of schizophrenia. Infantile autism was then included under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders in 1980, changed from infantile autism to autism disorder in 1987.
Nope. 1 in every 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) have autism. While other people may have symptoms that are similar to those of Autism, not everyone has Autism.
More and more research is finding that autism has a brain chemistry component and is not due to parenting styles, upbringing or psychology. Autism is seen as a disorder that falls upon a spectrum and is a constellation of symptoms rather than having a single identifier. Children who appear to be developing normally seem to exhibit signs of autism by the second or third year of life.
no Added: Fragile X is like autism in that the condition can be a spectrum disorder, no or mild symptoms to severe symptoms. Fragile X is Genetic, the genetics of Autism are still being determined. Fragile X can be diagnosed any where by any doctor by a simple blood test, Autism is a subjective diagnosis based on evaluations and observations.
While there are many symptoms of Autism, there are a few that are most common. These symptoms include, lack of eye contact, lack of expressing joy, lack of enjoyment in activities most children show interest in, and lack of response to one's name.
In some cases depending on the severity of symptoms Autism must be treated as a disease (or even several interacting diseases). However many cases of Autism can be treated simply by teaching better coping strategies. In a few cases they may not currently have symptoms that require treating it as a disease, but such symptoms may develop later in life.
There's a chance that she did have it. Her symptoms were borderline. - Anonymous Zara