Obvious and Not So Obvious Symptoms of Autism

Autism affects many children today and there are many different degrees of severity as well. Today nearly 1 in every 110 children will be diagnosed with autism. This figure makes it more common than juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. The rate of children diagnosed with autism is increasing by up to 17% each year. There are many possibilities of the cause of autism such as environmental, time of exposure, and genetics however nothing is completely determined to be the culprit.

Obvious symptoms of autism

A child who has been diagnosed with autism may have demonstrated symptoms in socialization, behavior, and language. The extent of the symptoms can be mild to severe, depending on how it affects your child.

Social skills that are affected by autism include poor eye contact, failure to respond to their name, appears to ignore you, doesn't want to be cuddled or held, prefers to play alone. Your child may also be sensitive to lights and sounds that are louder than normal. They may also find it difficult to communicate with others and withdraw when a lot of family or friends are around them.

Behavior skills that are affected by autism includes performing repetitive movements such as rocking, may yell out or get loud, may demonstrate signs of frustration when their schedule is not kept, moves around constantly, and is fascinated by parts of a moving object.

Language skills that are affected by autism includes no talking after the age of two years old even though the child may have already speaking some words, loses what language they have developed over the years. When an autistic child speaks they have one tone with their voice, almost like a robot.

Not so Obvious Symptoms of Autism

If your child has obvious signs of autism then you know that you need to go and talk to his doctor but what about signs that you are not sure of? Autism can affect a child at any age. As your child grows there are certain milestones that your child needs to reach in order to know if they are developing correctly. Your child should begin to roll over at a certain age, hold their head up, and even crawling is all performed by a certain age. However, if your child seems as though they are not developing these skills then you need to talk to your child's doctor to see if your child should undergo testing to see if autism is a problem.

Sometimes children learn at their own paces and because of that they may need to be encouraged to do something. It doesn't always mean that your child has autism if they do not move like the other children in a play group. If you are ever in doubt, ask your doctor for help and guidance. There are many degrees of autism and no two children have the exact same signs so if your child displays even one symptom of autism it is important to see what their doctor thinks about autism.

For the latest videos and training information on child development as well as books and curricula please visit www.childdevelopmentmedia.com.

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