Having a child diagnosed with autism is something that no parent is prepared for. This is a disorder that’s diagnosed on a spectrum, but is characterized by several symptoms. The most common of these are issues in social and communicative behaviors, along with uncommon cyclical habits.
While each autistic individual would have a different pattern of behavior and require different ways to handle them, early recognition of autism definitely helps. It’s especially helpful if the diagnosis is made by the time the child is 18 months old. This way, the child and all those connected with him/her would be better equipped to undergo methods for learning, rowing, and surviving autism.
Everyone should hence be familiar with the early warning signs of autism. This could even lessen the effects of this disorder, and so should be common knowledge especially in developed countries. Read on for no less than 20 early signs below:
1. Distance and Disconnection
You should be suspecting autism if your toddler or infant is displaying an air of distance and disconnect even with close family members. They may not be able to respond to different facial cues. For instance, a non-autistic child would probably shrink away from a frown even if they’re under a year old. Autistic kids, on the other hand, probably wouldn’t react any differently to a frown or a smile.
However, this doesn’t mean that autistic children don’t have or feel any emotions. If anything, they have an overabundance of feelings, as we’ll discuss later on.
It’s simply a matter of not understanding basic social cues as easily as their on-autistic peers. Young autistic children tend not to express joy, anger, or sadness themselves all that easily. If you notice any child displaying such symptoms even at the age of nine months, a proper analysis is recommended.