Symptoms Of Autism In Toddlers

As defined by the Autism Society of America (ASA), autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. It is also known as a spectrum disorder, because of the severity of the symptoms that range from a mild learning and social disability to a severe impairment with multiple problems and highly unusual behavior. The symptoms begin to manifest at the age of 6 months, develop a firm hold by the age of 2-3 years, and continue to grow through the adulthood. What causes autism is not well understood yet, but the current research indicates that genetic defects and DNA mutations play a primary role in the development of autism. It is also being contemplated that genetics alone can’t do it and some harmful external elements like toxins or chemicals might exaggerate the genetic dispositions and trigger autism formation at the age of infancy. But all of this is still in theory and is being researched upon; nothing is known for sure. However, intensive treatment can be put into action if symptoms are caught at the infancy stage. Read further to know about how infants show the symptoms of autism.

Autism Signs In Infants

By the age of six months, babies develop a tendency to turn their head in the direction of a sudden movement or to the sounds they are familiar with. But babies with autism fail to respond to such sudden movements or sound made by people around them to hold their attention. On top of that, babies with autism do not show any signs of big smiles or other joyful animated expressions.
By the age of nine months, babies have learnt to smile more often, laugh considerably, and develop a liking for baby games likes peek-a-boo and many others. However, babies with autism show no interest or do not respond with enthusiasm to the playful activities around them. Moreover, there’s a lack of consistent sharing of smiles, facial expressions, and animated sounds.
Autistic infants may face difficulties in feeding, may not smile at the recognition of their parents’ faces, and may even show resistance to being held close or cuddled by their parents. Because of this, they may even fail to bond with their parents, siblings, or caregivers. This lack of bonding may lead to not looking up to their parents when they’re in need of support or reassurance. Such kids might even respond to them in the same way as they do to others.
By the age of one year, babies develop a more active state than what they used to possess in the former years and gesturing and burbling becomes an un-detachable part of their daily routine. But babies with autism are unable to develop an interactive state of babbling or baby talk. They are also not able to display constant gesturing such as pointing towards movements of people and objects such as toys or other play items, waving goodbyes, or other physical display of emotions.
Moving past the age of one, most babies have already developed a liking for all the attention they get through the presence of the people and other playful objects. However, that is not the case with the autistic babies as they feel more content in being by themselves than being surrounded by others. This disinterest becomes visible when the baby doesn’t seem to share his/her interest or enjoyment with other people and doesn’t ask for help or make other requests.

Signs Of Autism

Lack of language development, both verbal and non-verbal, such as no smiles or joyful expressions and baby talk is a certain sign of autism.
Babies with autism are unusually quiet for their age and may sleep peacefully through the night, undisturbed by the external factors.
If the baby engages itself in repeated actions or motions such as flapping of its hands or twiddling with the objects, then you need to watch out for, for it might be a sign of caution.
Lack of eye contact or response to other cues such as not following the movements, not smiling back when smiled at, not following the gestures when things are pointed out, not responding to the calling of his/her name, all indicate a sure shot presence of autism in toddlers.

Though there is no well-known treatment for autism, the autism symptoms in infants if detected early, can be reversed to some extent by taking advantage of the malleability of a developing brain through therapies and conditional training.

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