Signs of Autism in Infants and Children

Early signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be detected in infants, yet many children with autism do not receive a diagnosis until the ages of two or three. While not every autistic baby is able to be diagnosed as an infant, there are many benefits to receiving a diagnosis before reaching preschool age. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) an autism diagnosis can be appropriately given at the age of 18 months or even sooner for some babies. Doctors will typically do a screening for autism spectrum disorders at the 9 month, 18 month, 2-year, and 3-year wellness checkups. The earlier an infant is diagnosed with autism, the sooner interventions can begin and the best resources can be identified.

A couple of months ago we published a book written by Editor Leslie Burby. It details how parents can identify the early signs of Autism in their children. So far it has received some great reviews from its readers.

This friday the 4th October at 13:00 EDT Autism Parenting Magazine will be running a free webinar  about Spotting signs of Autism in Children as well as options for early intervention.

I did something that I rarely ever do this month; I watched TV. One night my husband and I decided to not work and sat down on the TV in hopes to find something to watch. He settled on Dancing with the Stars so I sat and watched in revelry missing the days that I used to dance.  One woman caught my eye with her beautiful smile and angelic face, as she waited for her turn to dance to Derek. I had never seen her before but she was one of the “stars.” Later they showed a commercial of a woman winning the Paralympics and as I took a closer look I realized it was the angelic woman that had caught my attention earlier. Then the show went on to show her meeting her dancing coach Derek and showing him that she has two prosthetic legs and feet from bacterial meningitis. When she, Amy Purdy, danced everyone held their breath. When she was done dancing, eyes were filled with tears, hearts soared with happiness and everyone was in awe of this woman’s courage and dedication to not let anything stop her.  She astounded but even more than that was my shock at how people are able to sympathize with her because they can see her struggle. I sat their wondering what if people could sympathize or hold their breath long enough to wonder what a struggle it is for autistic persons when they are met with something like small talk or a job interview? Just imagine if people were kind enough and thoughtful enough or maybe I should say were aware enough to consider the difficultness of verbal and social skills that come easy to most Neuro-typicals? Or perhaps what if people could visibly see sensory struggles? I am not saying people should wait to the day when they can see it to show respect of it. What I am saying is that ALL people, should be respected, accepted and loved. We all have different abilities, different struggles, different strengths, different weakness- my hope is one day we stop measuring abilities against each other and embrace our uniqueness and help each other with our struggles.

Take a look at the latest in motivational and informative books that focus on autism. Whether it’s a gift for yourself or a friend, these books are sure to inspire

“Why can’t you just tell me who her teacher is?!” Casey sits down on the couch, sweat beading on her brow as her daughter, Janie, repeatedly rewinds and watches the same clip of a cartoon on the iPad. Casey has been calling the school since June, when Janie’s teacher, Mrs. Naughton, retired after 25 years in the same special education classroom. She was so good with Janie, understanding her personality and her likes and dislikes from day one. The school has been saying that they were working on finding a great replacement, but it is now mid-August and Casey hasn’t heard a thing. Last year Janie loved going to school and loved Mrs. Naughton, but that wasn’t always the case. The transition into Mrs. Naughton’s class was difficult and Janie took a while to warm up, despite Mrs. Naughton’s keen understanding of her needs. Janie’s transition into Mrs. Naughton’s class consisted of crying on the bus ride, pulling out her own hair and refusing to eat breakfast or lunch on most school days. She also refrained from using the bathroom for the entire school day, resulting in accidents on the bus and a urinary tract infection. Mrs. Naughton suggested preparing Casey for the upcoming school year by having her meet the team and talking with her about her new classroom and teacher as much as possible over the summer. Casey is worried that without the proper time to prepare, the transition will go much as it did last time.

While planning sensory activities for the Activities 4 All Abilities class that I hold, I stumbled upon www.HouseofBurke.blogspot.com. She had the great idea of combining sand with paint. In the summer I fully support my kids getting messy and then washing them off with the hose.  I liked her idea because it didn’t require many supplies.

I am an extended family member of parents of an autistic child. We both live in the same metro area, but sadly we don’t relate. I have made numerous offers to have them visit my home, have had them with us on a couple weekend getaways, as well as traveling to their child’s milestone events so he would have kids (my kids) to help celebrate. I have offered to help them get him in the ocean, mountains, sleepovers, etc. I have also made, what in retrospect are typical blunders, on our first encounter when observing violent behavior toward my own children and their other child. We were never prepared, and were just going on our experience with friend’s kids who were also on the spectrum.

A couple months ago as I tucked my daughter into bed she nonchalantly asked me, “Mom, am I autistic?”  It caught me off guard because in our house the word autism is heard quite often, but we don’t label anyone. When my friends come over with their autistic children we don’t point it out, we just treat everyone with kindness and respect; label not needed.  I simply said, “Yes, you are, you have a type of autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. You were diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and hypotonia when you were two.” To which she said, “Oh, is that why you work so hard on the magazine and write books about autism?”   “YES! Yes, it is but not just for you but to help other parents because it took mommy a long time to get you help so I try to share what I have learned to help other parents,” I tried to explain.  Then she said, “Is my brother autistic too? Is it why he has a hard time speaking?” My eyes started to tear at her realization and I said, “Yes, my love, your brother is autistic, too.” She said, “Does he have the same kind as me?” Again I was speechless for a good while.  I thought about all the autistic adults that I hold in such high regard, that have taught me so much including the importance about not assigning functioning labels and how many have felt very strongly when the makers of the DSM-V changed everything. So I tried to explain to her that they stop diagnosing people with Asperger’s and PDD-NOS and all the others and now everyone is just diagnosed as having Autistic Spectrum Disorder. She turned to me and simply said, “Well, that was a dumb idea.” To which I burst out laughing.

I’m one of the lucky few to know the secret identity of the Preteen Mutant Ninja Turtle that patrols our house, keeping it safe from bad guys of all kinds, and crane flies that invariably invade our house every spring.  If you are a friend of evil, look out, because she will terminate you with prejudice.  She is…ZOE.