Is it true that the first symptoms of autism can be seen in a baby a few months old? What could these symptoms be?
The first symptoms of autism usually appear before the child is 3 years old. However, the research and reports of parents show that they often notice some disturbing behavior even in the first year of a child’s life. Children who may later develop autism have difficulty making eye contact, are little interested in other people, do not pay attention to the faces of others, do not divide attention (e.g. if an adult looks at an object, a healthy child wants to see what the adult is looking at. and looks at the object, then looks at the adult’s face again). They are pale in appearance. Their faces and bodies are not very expressive. They have difficulty using gestures. Very often, these children do not point out when they see something interesting, they do not bring their parents things that are interesting for them, e.g. books or pebbles. Sometimes they don’t seem to hear. They don’t always react to their own name, they don’t seem to understand what is said to them. They react better when a command is supported by a gesture than simply spoken. They cannot play “pretend” – pretend that they are feeding a doll, cooking, taking bricks to the construction site by car, etc.
If you want to control the proper development of your child, you can perform diagnostic tests that include TSH, total IgE and glucose.
In children with autism, speech does not develop properly. Some children do not speak and do not compensate for the lack of speech with facial expressions and gestures. In other children with autism spectrum disorders, speech initially develops properly – first words appear, sometimes even tasks, and then regress. The child suddenly or gradually stops talking, communicating with the environment. In children with Asperger’s Syndrome, it is difficult to notice abnormalities in the development of speech in the first years of life. These children talk a lot, have a rich vocabulary. Due to their good speech development, they are sometimes referred to as “little professors”. It is only at the age of a few that it becomes apparent that these children have difficulties in dialogue, are interested in what they say themselves, not in what the interaction partner has to say, etc.
In some children we also observe the so-called movement mannerisms – flapping hands, rocking, turning in a circle. In addition, autistic children often arrange items, not just their toys. They can stare at the spinning drum of the washing machine for a long time, spin the wheels of cars. Sometimes they seem unheard, while some sounds make them scream and cover their ears. It happens that they like strong pressure and they squeeze between the back of the sofa and the wall, but also sometimes they avoid touching, especially delicate ones.
In addition, parents often report children’s problems with eating (fussy eaters, eating only a few selected products), colic in infancy, abdominal problems (constipation or diarrhea), sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep, very short, restless sleep, waking up at night with crying, screaming).
SYNAPSIS Foundation http://synapsis.org.pl/
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