How do we identify autism in infants and in young children?
Autistic children do not socially interact very well with other people and do not communicate well. They often are very restricted in their activities and interests. A young autistic child may not make eye contact with others. As young infants, they do not seem to enjoy the normal cuddling most babies do. When somewhat older, they may fail to develop the ability to speak at a normal rate. They do not play with toys in a usual fashion, but rather have an intense interest in twirling or spinning objects, and play in this fashion for hours at a time. In addition, they are extremely fearful when facing new situations and people, always preferring to see familiar faces. They may develop unusual, stereotyped body movements such as hand flicking, twisting, head banging or complex whole body movements. Lesser affected youngsters may have notable abnormalities of speech. They may intone words or phrases in rhymes, verses, or accents, and they may sing melodies with unusual inflections of speech
