Autism is an often misunderstood condition. In many cases, autism goes undiagnosed, particularly in toddlers. There are, however, some specific signs that you can look for to determine whether a toddler may be autistic. The checklist below outlines some of those symptoms:

_____ Significant problems with the development of nonverbal communication skills. Examples include facial expressions, body posture, and eye-to-eye gazing _____ A lack of shared interests with other people _____ A failure to make friendships with children of the same age _____ Difficulty understanding other peoples’ feelings, or a lack of empathy _____ A delay in talking, or a lack of talking _____ Repetitive use of language, often a phrase or word _____ An unusual focus on the smaller parts of a toy (such as a wheel on a toy car rather than the car itself _____ Preoccupation with patterned topics, such as license plates or train schedules _____ An important need for routine _____ Body rocking or hand flapping _____ A lack of interest in age-appropriate games, such as hide and seek _____ The appearance of hearing difficulties _____ Some form of special skills, such as memorizing lists or calculating dates _____ Unusual sense perceptions, such as not feeling pain or seeming to be overly sensitive to pain.

The good news is that, if it is diagnosed early and treated appropriately, most toddlers with autism will indeed improve their ability to relate with others, and to help themselves, and to communicate. Most autistic children don’t have to continue to live in their own world, socially isolated from everyone else. Still, roughly 2/3 of people with autism as adults are not able to lead independent lives, requiring a variety of care giving well into adulthood and through the rest of their lives.

During regular well child checkups with your pediatrician or health care provider, she will likely check certain developmental milestones. If she does not do this sort of testing, you should ask that it be done. Keep in mind that your observations about your toddler’s behavior are just as valuable to your health care provider as your toddler’s behavior while he is in the health care providers office. If your health care provider believes that your child may have autism, she will likely schedule some other screening tests or make a referral to someone that can do this sort of testing.

Posted in Baby and Toddler

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