Autism (or autistic disorder) is the most well-known pervasive developmental disorder.

Children with autism typically have problems in three critical areas of development: social interactions,  language and communication and  behavior. The severity of symptoms varies greatly between children. A child with severe autism demonstrates a complete inability to communicate or interact with others.

Some children show signs of autism at an early age. Others develop normally for the first few months or years, then suddenly withdraw into themselves, become aggressive, or lose the language they have acquired. Although each child has a unique behavior, the most common symptoms in children are:

In terms of social skills 

• Difficulty making eye contact or understanding facial expressions.
• Difficulty decoding emotional expressions (knowing if someone is sad) and difficulty interpreting other people’s intentions.
• A difficulty in expressing his emotions, his feelings (it is sometimes difficult for those around him to know if the child is in pain, for example).
• An absence of response when called by name.
• A preference to play alone, to withdraw into his world, an inability to make friends of his age.
• An inability to play symbolic (imaginative, pretend) games.
• Resistance to hugs or getting caught.

In terms of language and communication

• The child begins to speak later than 2 years old.
• The appearance of other developmental delays around 30 months.
• The loss of words or phrases already acquired.
• The child does not look at his interlocutor when addressing someone.
• An inability to initiate or maintain a conversation.
• The child speaks with an abnormal rhythm or tone (a singing or “mechanical” voice).
• The child can repeat words but does not understand their meaning.

In terms of behavior

• A tendency to move repetitive (called stereotypies) such as rocking, clapping, or spinning.
• Excessive dependence on routines or special rituals.
• A hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to light, sound, touch, certain textures, or insensitivity to pain. This peculiarity could be explained by a disorder of the processing of sensory information.
• A fascination with certain parts of an object, for example a wheel that turns on a toy.
• The child is constantly moving.
• The child does not seek to share his interests with others.
• benefits tantrums, aggressive gestures directed against oneself (self-aggression) and / or directed towards others (hetero-aggression).

It is best to see a specialist as soon as possible if your child:

• Do not babble or twitter by 12 months of age.
• Does not make gestures to communicate, such as pointing at an object or a picture.
• Said no words at 16 months old.
• Don’t say a two-word sentence at 24 months old.
• Seems to lose his language or already acquired social skills.