Common Signs of Autism

Many people do not understand autism or the signs and symptoms that go with it. The myths of autism need to be wiped away and the reality of the autism spectrum disorders needs to be understood. Only through knowledge can people with autism be understood and accepted. Here are some common signs of autism and reasons why they occur.

Social Skills

• Children with autism may show signs such as failing to respond to his or her name, limited eye contact, appearing deaf without real hearing loss, resistance to being touched or held, and preferring to play by themselves. Many of these signs can be frustrating for adults and parents it is important to understand the child is not being defiant.

Language Skills

• Language skills tend to develop later in children with autism, and sometimes not at all. Most children with autism will start talking later than expected; some who spoke earlier may lose that ability. Children with autism typically do not make eye contact when speaking or making requests. Once autistic children do learn to speak, they may do so with unusual tone or rhythm, such singing or robot-like. Children who have autism typically cannot start or carry conversations. Some children will repeat things that they have heard.

Behavior

• When autistic children become overwhelmed either through stimulation or sensory overload, they typically resort to self-stimulating behaviors. These behaviors can include rocking, spinning, hand flapping or sometimes repeating comforting phrases. They may develop routines and rituals and become upset if these change. The child may also be in constant motion, or become entranced with a part of an object, like wheels on a toy car.

Sensory Problems

• Children with autism usually have many sensory problems. They can have sensory overload doing something that may seem normal to us, like a trip to a grocery store.

  At the store, the child is bombarded by all the brightly colored labels, the smell of the food and of the people around them, the sound of shopping carts in motion and fluorescent lights humming, the booming voice over the intercom system, the sound of items droppied into baskets, and the feeling of cold metal and hard plastic against their legs if they are sitting in a shopping cart.

  The store becomes a jungle of sights, sounds, smells, and tactile sensations that are too much for the child and can easily lead to a sensory overload, temper tantrums or self-stimulating behavior.

Treatment

• Autism used to be thought of as a condition that can't be treated, but now it is seen as manageable and even treatable to an extent. Children who are diagnosed early with autism spectrum disorder have a greater advantage of leading a more normal life than those diagnosed later. They can be treated with medications and specialized education so that they can learn to work on a normal or close to normal level as possible. While the degree of autism plays a part, early treatment for the child can make a large difference. Behavioral treatments also work for autistic children.