Autism Symptoms in the First Year

Because the causes of autism are not known for sure, it can generate concern for many parents. First-time parents especially, who are new to experiencing the developmental stages of a baby, may be inclined to either worry that their child has autistic-like tendencies, or miss the warning signs all together. Because early intervention is of great importance when it comes to dealing with autism, being able to detect early signs of the condition is critical. The good news is that there are certain signs that may be evident in a baby even as young as 1 year old.

Developmental Delays

• One early indicator of autism or another delay involves your baby not meeting his developmental milestones. While babies grow and mature at different rates, you should expect your young child to be on range for at least some of his age-appropriate milestones. Milestones encompass social, physical and verbal behavior in a child. Not meeting many milestones could indicate a problem in development such as autism. Review the milestones with your doctor if you are concerned that your child is falling behind.

Social Skills

• While some babies are more social than others, you should expect basic social skills in all small children. Such social skills include interest in others, especially other children and the child's own parents. A baby should respond to his mother's voice and respond to the mood or behavior of others. For instance, if a baby's mother comes home from work and excitedly greets her child, he will likely be excited in response. If he shows no emotion, this could indicate a lack in social skills, which can be a sign of autism.

Verbal Skills

• A child should be able to babble before his first birthday and even say a few words by the time he turns 1. If a baby makes no babbling sounds or communicative gestures such as waving "hi," or "bye," or indicating his wants or needs through simple gestures such as pointing, this could mean he has a delay in his verbal skills. A delay in verbal skills can be an early sign of autism, especially if other developmental markers are not being reached as well.

Repetivite Behavior

• Self-stimulatory behavior is often associated with autism. This could mean simple arm movements such as flapping or rubbing hands or fingers together. It could also involve obsessions with a certain page of a story or section of a movie that he wants to see again and again.

Inappropriate Play

• Inappropriate use of toys can be an early sign of autism or a similar delay. This may mean lining up toys and organizing them based on size color or other similarity. A strong interest in watching objects spin or fall is also an early indicator. For instance, if your baby prefers to flip a toy car over and spin the tires again and again, rather than roll the car on the ground, this may be a sign of a problem.

Unexplained Emotions

• Since children with autism are often in their own world, you may notice certain emotional outbursts that you do not understand. For instance, unexplained laughter when he is by himself or extreme outbursts when an activity ends