Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 4: Recognizing Differences in Communication
• Method 2 of 4: Observing Communication Difficulties
• Method 3 of 4: Identifying Repetitive Behavior
• Method 4 of 4: Observing Autism As You Grow Up
• Tips

Autism is a disorder with a wide range of symptoms that can manifest itself in various aspects of behavior. A child with autism does not develop the brain in the same way as normal children, which manifests itself in differences or difficulties in intellectual development, social interaction, non-verbal and verbal communication, as well as self-stimulation (for example, repetitive actions or movements). While every autistic child is unique, it is very important to recognize the signs of the disease as early as possible to provide the proper support to help you and your child live life to the fullest.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Recognizing Differences in Communication

1. 1 Interact with your child. Typically, babies are very socially active and love to maintain eye contact. A child with autism may be lacking in interaction with their parents, or may appear "inattentive" from the perspective of non-autistic adults.
   • Make eye contact. In a neurotypical child (that is, a child with no developmental disabilities), the need for eye contact occurs at the age of six to eight weeks. An autistic infant may not look at you at all or avoid eye contact.
   • Smile at the child.The average baby will begin to smile back and show a happy expression, starting as early as six weeks or even earlier. A child with autism may not even smile at their parents.
   • Try making faces at your child. See if he imitates you. Autistic children often do not copy facial expressions.
2. 2 Call your child by name. Children with normal development begin to respond to a name at nine months.
   • As a rule, ordinary children at the age of 1 year already call you "mom" or "dad".
3. 3 Play with your toddler. At 2-3 years old, a child with no developmental disabilities will play games with you and others with great interest.
   • An autistic toddler may appear detached from the world or deeply thoughtful. An ordinary child, already at the age of 1 year, will involve you in the game: showing, reaching out, gesturing, waving a pen.
   • Ordinary children play in parallel until almost 3 years old. Parallel play means that the child plays with other children and is happy with their company, but does not necessarily participate in joint play. Parallel play should not be confused with the manifestations of autism, in which the child does not interact with other children at all.
4. 4 Pay attention to differences of opinion. At about the age of five, neurotypical children already understand that you and them may have different opinions about certain things, different preferences, and the like. Autistic people, as a rule, find it very difficult to understand that others may have completely different opinions, thoughts, feelings.
   • If your child likes strawberry ice cream, tell him that you like chocolate ice cream and watch to see if he objects or gets upset that your opinions differ.
   • Many autistic people are far more receptive to theory than practice. A girl with autism may know that you love the color blue, but she has no idea that you will be upset if she crosses the street to look at the balloons.
5. 5 Watch your mood and impulses. A child with autism may have bouts of overemotionalism that often resemble a tantrum. However, such manifestations happen unconsciously and are very difficult for the child himself.
   • Autistic children go through many problems and sometimes try to "cannon" their emotions in order to please adults. Emotions can get out of control so much that the child tries to harm himself, for example, starts banging his head against a wall or biting himself.
   • Autistic people feel more pain due to sensory problems, mishandling from others and other factors. Most often, they can show aggression in self-defense.

Method 2 of 4: Observing Communication Difficulties

1. 1 Talk to your child and see if he responds. Watch the sounds and babble they make change as you get older. Children usually start speaking in words between the ages of 1 year 4 months to 2 years.
   • By the age of 9 months, your neurotypical baby will be exchanging sounds with you, mimicking a conversation. An autistic person may not speak at all or speak, but suddenly stop.
   • A typical baby starts babbling around the age of 1 year.
2. 2 Communicate with your child. Talk to your child about his favorite toy and observe the correct sentence structure and speaking skills. As a rule, a neurotypical child will already know a lot of words at 1 year 4 months, will be able to build meaningful two-word phrases at 2 years old and coherent sentences at the age of 5 years.
   • An autistic child often rearranges words in a sentence or simply repeats phrases or text heard, which is also called echolalia. He can confuse pronouns and say, for example, "do you want pancakes?" When he means that he wants them.
   • Some children with autism skip the babbling stage and have excellent language skills. They may start speaking early and / or have a large vocabulary. Their communication style may differ from that of their peers.
3. 3 Try specific phrases. See if your child takes them too literally. Autistic children often misunderstand body language, tone of voice, and expressions.
   • If you exclaim sarcastically "What a beauty!" When you find wallpaper painted with red felt-tip pen in the living room, an autistic child may think that you actually think his art is beautiful.
4. 4 Observe your child's facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language. Children with autism very often have a unique system of non-verbal communication. Since most people are not used to the gestures and body language of autistic people, the following features can be confusing for you and those around you:
   • imitation of robots, chanting, or an unusual child's voice (even in adolescence and adulthood);
   • body language that does not match the mood;
   • rare change of facial expressions, exaggerated active facial expressions and other unusual manifestations.

Method 3 of 4: Identifying Repetitive Behavior

1. 1 Observe your child for repetitive behaviors. While all children enjoy repetitive play to some extent, to some extent, autistic people exhibit a consistent cyclical pattern of swaying, clapping, moving objects, or repeating certain sounds over and over, called echolalia. This can go a long way towards self-soothing and relaxation.
   • All children under 3 years old copy the speech they hear. Autistic children can do this much more often, and even after they reach the age of three.
   • Some cyclical behaviors are called self-stimulation or "stimming" and involve stimulating the child's senses. For example, if your son wiggles his fingers in front of his eyes, it means that he stimulates his vision and entertains himself in this way.
2. 2 Pay attention to how your child is playing. Autistic people often do not participate in creative play, preferring to organize objects (for example, arranging toys in order or building a city for their dolls rather than playing story games with them). Imagination works inside their consciousness.
   • Try to break the pattern: swap the dolls in a row, or walk in front of the child as he tries to walk in a circle. An autistic person will noticeably annoy your actions.
   • An autistic child may engage in creative play with another child, especially if they are taking the lead, but they are unlikely to do so alone.
3. 3 Pay attention to special interests and favorite subjects. Intense and unusual attachment to everyday household items (such as a broom or string) or other things can be a sign of autism.
   • An autistic child can take a special interest in a particular topic and develop incredibly deep knowledge in that area. It can be anything: football statistics, cats, Harry Potter, logic puzzles, checkers. The child "lights up" and opens up when the conversation turns to one of these topics.
   • A child may have one special interest or several at once. Interests can change as you get older.
4. 4 Notice if the child has a need for patterned actions. Many autistic children need rules, a constant sequence of actions, and changes can trigger violent reactions and protests. For example, if you always drive your child the same road to school, try changing your route. An autistic child can become stubborn and very upset.
   • Rules and patterns can be associated with daily activities, but also with words (for example, the child constantly asks the same questions), food (the child recognizes only food of a certain color), clothes (the child agrees to wear only things of a certain color or from a certain fabric) and the like.
   • Routine actions calm the person with autism.The world may seem unpredictable, intimidating and incomprehensible to him, and following the rules gives a feeling of control and stability.
5. 5 Observe if the child is hypersensitive or hypersensitive to physical sensations. Talk to your doctor if light, texture, sound, taste, or temperature is causing your child increased discomfort.
   • Autistic children may overreact to new sounds (such as a sudden loud noise or a vacuum cleaner being turned on), textures (a scratchy sweater or socks), and so on. This is due to the heightened sensitivity of one or another sensory organ, as a result of which a new sensation truly causes discomfort or even pain.

Method 4 of 4: Observing Autism As You Grow Up

1. 1 Know when autism can be seen. Some symptoms are evident as early as around 2–3 years of age. However, this diagnosis can be made at any age, especially during times of change (such as moving to high school or moving to a new home) or stress. A stressful life can lead to the fact that the autistic child will regress, and his features will aggravate and seriously disturb the parents.
   • Sometimes the signs of autism appear as early as the first or second year of life.
   • For some, autism is not diagnosed until graduation, when the difference in development becomes especially evident.
2. 2 Examine the stages of growing up in children. With minor differences, most children go through certain stages of development. Autistic people can go through these stages later. Some people manage to pass them earlier, then the parents tend to believe that the child is a gifted introvert.
   • At 3 years old, children can usually already climb stairs, play simple games that require a certain amount of manual dexterity, and fantasize while playing ("let's just like ...").
   • By age 4, a child can retell their favorite stories, draw scribbles and follow simple rules.
   • By the age of 5, a child can usually draw, talk about how he spent his day, wash his hands on his own, and focus on a specific task.
   • Older autistic children and adolescents may exhibit strict adherence to patterns and certain rituals, become passionate about certain interests, use objects specific to their age group, avoid eye contact, and be extremely sensitive to touch.
3. 3 Watch for loss of skills. Consult your family doctor if you have any problems at any time during your child's development. Do not hesitate if a child of any age has a speech impairment, loss of social skills or self-care skills.
   • Most of the lost skills are still not completely lost and are subject to restoration.

Tips

• Studies have shown that therapy for autism is more effective when started at an earlier age.
• It is generally accepted that autism is more common in boys. However, experts believe that autism in girls may be missed at the stage of diagnosis, especially given that girls are more prone to "good behavior."
• Asperger's Syndrome used to be considered a separate disorder, but now falls under the category of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• Many autistic children experience medical problems such as anxiety, depression, gastrointestinal upset, epilepsy, sensory disorders, and cicero, which is the urge to eat inedible items (outside of the little toddler’s mouthing habits).
• Vaccination does not cause autism.