Early signs of autism can be detected in babies by playing peek-a-boo, research has shown. If their brains respond less than they should to the stimulating game they are more likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as toddlers.
New research suggests that babies who show lower levels of brain activity in response to social stimuli, such as peek-a-boo or the sounds of yawning and laughter, are more likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as toddlers.
Research dating back to the 1960s shows that babies with autism produce cries that are distinct from and higher-pitched than those of other babies. An analysis from the new study shows that short pauses between cries cause the most distress in some adult listeners.
Some children with autism smile to show they're happy but don't share their enjoyment. Others show little facial expression or have flat affect and rarely smile so you may not know when they're happy.
While many children with autism feel averse to hugging, some children with autism like to be hugged. Some children can swing the opposite way and want so many hugs that they feel hug deprived when they aren't getting enough.
In some cases, a child may appear to have clumsiness and awkwardness in doing normal activities like walking and running. Some children also have repetitive behaviors such as hand clapping, twisting, or twirling.
Young children may express more voiced than unvoiced laughter, as they haven't yet learned to purposely laugh. The test group of autistic children laughed just about as often as the non-autistic kids, but the autistic children's laughter was 98 percent voiced, while non-autistic children produced both types.
Sometimes, autistic children may even not like to be held, hugged, or touched by anyone and may be fussy or reactive when forced to do so.
In children with autism, such phobias can arise from heightened sensory stimulation such as loud noises (for example, fear of popping balloons at an early age can develop into a phobia). Typical phobias like the dark or needles can also develop in children with autism.
Landa has also found that autistic babies aren't able to communicate by expression about a topic like the penguin, or even react to a simple game of peekaboo on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, says Landa, these are subtle signs a parent may not notice, simply thinking their child is distracted or obstinate.
Early signs of autism in young children up to 36 months may include: Limited speech. Difficulties in being able to follow simple verbal instructions. Showing little interest in imaginative play, such as pretend games.
Social skills —Social issues related to knowing if your child has autism are some of the most common symptoms across all types of autism. If your child prefers to play alone, does not respond to their name by 12 months of age, and does not share interests with others, these are some of the potential warning signs.
Understanding the Response to Affection
For instance, some children with ASD may appear disinterested when engaged in play or in response to affection from loved ones while others may have an overly affectionate child with autism. Individuals with autism can also have an aversion to touch.
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have been found to demonstrate lower levels of social smiling than typically developing children and children with other developmental disorders (Dawson, Hill, Spencer, Galbert, & Watson, 1990; Kasari, Sigman, Mundy, & Yirmiya, 1990; Wetherby, Prizant, & Hutchinson, 1998).
They usually prefer to play alone and have challenges working together with others. Various types of therapy are available to help kids with autism and their families to play together and build relationships.
However, they look up to the mother or caregiver for social referencing and hover around or cling to the caregiver. Children with an ASD are not vigilant and do not look up to the caregiver for social referencing. They may not cling to the caregiver, although go up to them for succor.
At both ages, those in the autism and disability groups are more likely than the controls to transition quickly from whimpering to intense crying. This suggests that the children have trouble managing their emotions, the researchers say.
Autistic children can have particular sleep and settling problems, including: irregular sleeping and waking patterns – for example, lying awake until very late or waking very early in the morning. sleeping much less than expected for their age, or being awake for more than an hour during the night.
In the case of vocal stimming (or verbal stimming), the child might make noises such as groaning, grunting, high- pitched screeching, squealing, humming, or repeating random words, words to a familiar song, phrases, or lines from a movie.
They found that although the autistic children did not differ from the younger, typically developing children in the amount of time spent looking at their own faces, but that they did spend a lot more time looking at objects in the mirror, and that their behavior toward their reflections differed from that of either ...
Through her own sleuthing, she found that the vast majority of children with an ADNP mutation grow a nearly full set of baby teeth, including molars, before their first birthday. (Children typically reach this milestone between age 2 and 3.)
There may be some delays in spoken language or differences in how they interact with peers. However, children on the autism spectrum usually sit, crawl, and walk on time. So, the subtler differences in the development of gestures (pointing), pretend play and social language often go unnoticed by families and doctors.
Lack of greetings (hi/bye)
Autistic children struggle to understand the process of greetings and farewells. They often don't learn to wave “hi” or “bye” or even use the words “hi” and “bye.” However, some do the process but rarely participate in the process or need to be instructed to do so.
The earliest signs of autism involve the absence of typical behaviors—not the presence of atypical ones—so they can be tough to spot. In some cases, the earliest symptoms of autism are even misinterpreted as signs of a “good baby,” since the infant may seem quiet, independent, and undemanding.