Early Signs or Symptoms of Autism in Children

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Did you know that about one of 110 children in the U.S has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) -- according to a new data from CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)?! In general, kids with this developmental disorder have problems associated with 3 crucial issues; behavior, ability to speak (difficulty in language), and social interaction. But what are the early signs of autism in children, so thus they can get the better early treatments?! 

You might also like to read treatment options for autism in children and causes of autism spectrum disorder, before continuing!

In general, kids with autism are usually characterized by an almost complete /complete inability to socialize, interact, or communicate with their environment /other people. The symptoms of this disorder vary greatly. In other words, two kids with the same diagnosis may behave quite differently with may also be followed strikingly different skills. What else you need to know? Keep reading!

What is autism spectrum disorder?

ASD or “Autism Spectrum Disorders” is a group of developmental problems (which autism is one of them) that usually appear in early childhood. ASD is pretty common to occur in kids before the age of 3. In essence, as mentioned before it can drastically affect the abilities of a child to interact /communicate with other people.

Unfortunately, the number of ASD cases (particularly for autism) appears to be rising. The increasing case of autism is unclear whether it is a real increasing statistic of autism cases, or because of better diagnosis /detection of autism, or both!

Overall, early treatments and intensive care can give a significantly different result in lives of many kids with autism -- though there is still no clearly cure for this disorder!

Additionally, the following are some types of ASD:

1. Autistic disorder! When we hear the word of ‘autism’, autistic disorder is usually the answer what most we think! Generally, it usually points to problems with social communication, interaction, and imaginative play in kids younger than three years.
2. Childhood disintegrative disorder! Children with this type usually can develop normally for at least 2 years, but then they lose most /some of their skills (social & communication skills).
3. Rett syndrome! It is a kind of rare genetic disorder that is usually most common in girls. It can affect the way of brain to develop. The symptoms of rett syndrome usually appear after six months of the age. Over time, children with this disorder will have increasing problems associated with coordination, communication, and movement.
4. Asperger’s disorder! Children with asperger’s syndrome are usually more likely to experience social problems than a problem with language. In other words, they may have good score /even higher average score on their intelligence test, but they have the same limited scope of interests (particularly such as social interests) as kids with autistic disorder!
5. Atypical autism! Children with it are often confused in their thinking, which in many cases also have problems to understand the word around them. Ask a doctor for more in-depth information!

Early signs of autism

A half of all ASD cases may be diagnosable during the infant years -- according to a study from the Kennedy Krieger Institute Center for Autism and Related Disorders! The other half of these cases may be diagnosed later.

The early diagnosis is often made at the age of 3 or higher, but in this study suggests that there is a chance to catch certain early signs of autism at 14 months after birth. And earlier symptoms that can be identified can be so helpful to make a very early diagnosis, which eventually intended to give a positive impact for the treatment.

Some conditions /factors that put children at higher risk of having autism may include:

1. A family history of ASD! For those who have sister or brother with autism, they are also more likely to experience the same condition. 
2. Gender! According to a published article on MayoClinic, boys have 3-4 times to develop autism than girls.
3. Kids with certain disorders, such as epilepsy, neurological disorder, intellectual disorder due to an inherited disorder (like tuberous sclerosis), and fragile-X syndrome.
4. The age of parent, especially when having an older father (over the age of 40). Children that born from older mothers may also be at high risk -- more studies are required to clear this issue!

According to the same study, the following are some very early signs of autism that may appear during toddler years:

1. Something wrong in initiating communication of the young children with other people! When they need a help, (without looking around for assistance) they may tend to struggle alone instead of asking other people for help. 
2. Impaired /poor ability to respond & initiate to opportunities to share experiences with other people. For instance; they may not follow the gaze of their parent or may not follow initiate contact with other people.
3. Something wrong when they are playing with their toys. There may be some unusual behaviors when playing with toys!
4. The variety of their gestures, words, or sounds to communicate decrease significantly! Children without autism usually have a normal intensity in using their gestures, words, and sound to communicate with others. On the other hand, children with autism tend to have /use a much smaller inventory gestures, sounds, and words.

Other common autism symptoms that may occur include:

Image credit to WebMD - Click to Enlarge!

Read also the previous post about signs of whooping cough in babies!

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Reference: MayoClinic and WebMD