What Are Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorders?
Most parents notice that something is not right with their children when the children are two or three years old. In some cases, parents pick up signs even earlier, when their children are in infancy. They may notice that their babies don’t look at them or seem to recognize familiar faces. Perhaps their babies don’t cry when they leave the room, exhibit anxiety around strangers, make babbling sounds, imitate gestures such as clapping and pointing, or enjoy playing games like peekaboo–all signs of a typically developing infant. There’s no single personality type that represents the model of an ASD baby. Some parents of children with ASDs look back and describe their children as having been angels when they were babies, hardly making a peep and demanding very little attention. Others describe their children as screamers. Still others describe their babies’ behavior as typical — nothing out of the ordinary.
Related Questions
- When does the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) predict autism spectrum disorders in primary school-aged children?
- Can autism spectrum disorders be distinguished from other atypical patterns of development at an early age?
- What are Pervasive Developmental Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders?
