How Can I Tell If My Child Has Autism

I have found The Autism Society of America to be the oldest and most informative site on this problem and I encourage you to visit the site for excellent information. Here I have copied their list of CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTISM. If your child has half of these behaviors, get them to a DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICIAN for diagnosis. Early intervention makes a huge difference!

from their site:

"Every person with autism is an individual, and like all individuals, has a unique personality and combination of characteristics. Some individuals mildly affected may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challenges with social interactions. The person may have difficulty initiating and/or maintaining a conversation. Communication is often described as talking at others (for example, monologue on a favorite subject that continues despite attempts by others to interject comments).

People with autism process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present. Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits.

• Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of words
• Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
• Laughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
• Prefers to be alone; aloof manner
• Tantrums
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• May not want to cuddle or be cuddled
• Little or no eye contact
• Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
• Sustained odd play
• Spins objects
• Inappropriate attachments to objects
• Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
• No real fears of danger
• Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Not responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing tests in normal range."

My son had all of these markers by age 3, but your child may not. Early diagnosis is key!

After ruling out deafness, Jake's speech therapist, Robin Rossman MS CCC (30 N. San Pedro Rd, Suite 265, San Rafael, CA 94901 phone 415-479-7880) went to work on teaching Jake and I some basic sign language so that Jake and I could communicate visually until he, many years later, learned to speak. I know a woman who won't allow her autistic son to be taught deaf signs because she believes if he learns to sign, he'll never learn to speak. I can only say that I had great success using sign language until Jake could talk and I know many other parents who had the same success. I say, use whatever works today. If you stand on principle, you may be right, but how will you know today if he or she is hungry, cold, needs something? Give them any venue they can employ to communicate with you. You can change and adjust methods as you go.