5 signs of autism spectrum disorder in children

Autism is a developmental condition that occurs in most cases in the first 3 years of life and affects the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people. Here are the 5 main autism symptoms that will help you identify if a child has autism. 

Communication problem & delayed speech

Children with autism spectrum disorder may find it difficult to meet people and develop friendships. They often seem to be in their own world and may be isolated. Delayed speech development is one of the main autism symptoms, often associated with difficulty in understanding many things that people say to them. This affects their ability to initiate and sustain conversations. Children with autism spectrum disorder also do not understand sarcasm and will take things literally. They are often very honest, as they don’t filter what they say before they speak.

Difficulty in social interaction/developing relationships

Children with autism symptoms have difficulty forming and maintaining relationships. This is because they do not instinctively respond to non-verbal forms of communication, such as facial expressions, physical gestures and eye contact. They may have a staring gaze or no eye contact at all when you speak to them. They are often unable to understand and express their needs just as they are unable to interpret and understand the needs of others. This impairs their ability to share interests and activities with other people.

Hypersensitivity

Children on autism spectrum may also be hypersensitive to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours. For someone with autism, sounds that others might not notice can be overwhelming or physically painful. They may need to wear ear defenders to block out the noise.

Repetitive Behaviour

Children with autism spectrum disorder may indulge in self-stimulatory behaviours, like hand flapping, spinning or head-banging. They might spend hours lining up their toy cars in a certain way, not using them for the type of play expected of a non-autistic child. If someone accidentally moves one of these toys, the child may get tremendously upset. Autistic children often need, and demand, absolute consistency in their environment. A slight change in any routine like in mealtimes, dressing, taking a bath, or going to school at a certain time and by the same route, can be extremely disturbing to them.

Restricted Interests

Autism in children makes them have highly restricted or fixed interests that are abnormal in intensity of focus. Some may have an extremely strong interest in one or more specific areas. An autistic child will sometimes have persistent, intense preoccupations. For example, the child might be obsessed with learning all about computers, TV programs, or might have interest in learning a particular musical instrument. Often they also show great interest in different languages, numbers, symbols or science topics.