Sadia Atif, Clinical Psychologist and Registered Behaviour Technician, discusses signs of autism in young children such as "sticky attention" and hand flapping.
The most important thing you can do as a parent or guardian of a child is to learn the milestones mentioned and become familiar with the early signs of developmental disorders to provide essential care as soon as necessary.
Following is a list of “red flags” that may indicate a form of developmental delay or disorder, such as autism:
- No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
- No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions by nine months
- No babbling by 12 months
- No back-and-forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months
- No expressive words by 16 months
- No meaningful two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months
- Any loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age
- Does not respond to name by 12 months
Features of autism can also be divided between features for younger and older children. Please look for these signs in your child according to whichever category they fall in:
Younger Children
- Absent or delayed speech
- Echolalia (repetition of speech)
- Reduced gestures
- Impaired pretend play
- Hand flapping
- Fascination with spinning/moving objects
- Attachment to unusual objects
- Poor eye contactPoor eye contact
- Poor eye contactPoor eye contact
- Limited responsive smiling
- Poor response to name
- Poor joint attention
- Lack of interest in others
- No expressive vocabulary by 16 months
- Lack of pointing
- Any loss of speech, babbling or social skills at any age
- Does not respond to name by 12 months
Older Children
- Unusual vocabulary
- Difficulty having a conversation
- Poor modulation of facial expressions/gestures/posture
- Unusual interests
- Compulsive rituals such as tapping and sniffing
- Atypical eye contact
- Difficulty forming friendships
- Difficulty understanding how others feel
If your child is not meeting some of the milestones or is showing any of the “red flags” mentioned above, there is still no need to panic. You should contact your family doctor or a pediatrician and let them know about your concerns. To ensure that you are able to voice your concerns properly, you should take note of the specific milestones your child has not yet met or the signs they might be showing.
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