At what age can a child be diagnosed with ASD?
Autism can be detected as early as 18 months (or earlier), but is often not diagnosed until later. While all children should be watched to make sure they are reaching developmental milestones on time, children in high-risk groups, such as children who have a parent or brother or sister with an ASD, should be watched even more closely. A child with any of the warning signs of ASD should be referred to a health care professional. Autism is often diagnosed when the child is 2 to 3 years old, and the diagnosis may not occur until a child begins attending school. However, parents often sense that something is wrong much earlier. On average, parents report that they start to worry about their child’s development by 18 months of age and voice some of their concerns to a doctor or another professional by age 2. Yet in many cases, social signs show up as early as 6 to 9 months of age, if parents and health professionals know what to look for in assessing the child.
