A few members of NAA-NYC were recently interviewed for a radio program
scienceontheradio.org. We were asked about early signs of autism. Some early signs of autism are:
-no declarative pointing (which indicates shared attention--"look at that...dog/plane/thing" etc.)
-any verbal or non verbal regression (loss of language or previously acquired skills)
-preoccupation with objects especially: fans and spinning objects, shiny objects (keys etc.)
-lining things up
-no mama/dada
-no language by sixteen months
-not smiling by six months of age
-not babbling, pointing or using other gestures by 12 months
-not answering or responding to their name when called repeatedly almost as if they are deaf yet being super sensitive to other sounds like the firetruck
-poor eye contact
According to a doctor I saw, autism is a puzzle and many typical kids and adults might have a few pieces of the puzzle. For example, many boys might be obsessed with vacuums, but in the presence of a bunch of the other symptoms, this typical interest might suggest the child needs to be evaluated by Early Intervention. So if the child is obsessed with vacuums AND has no language by 16 months AND doesn't respond to their name AND has poor eye contact AND has no declarative pointing, then they might be at risk for having an autism spectrum disorder.
If your child has many of these signs, then you might want to get an evaluation done by Early Intervention (EI) or speak to one of our
NAAvigators. According to
Medscape: "caregivers rarely express concern that their baby is in a "world of his own" unless something is wrong developmentally" so if you have concerns and your child is exhibiting many of the signs, you should contact EI for an evaluation. Every state has an early intervention program so if you have a child who is under the age of 3 years old who has a delay, you can receive a FREE EVALUATION by the state. You can download
New York City Early Intervention Referral Form HERE. Anyone can make a referral--including parents.
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