Signs of Autism in Babies and Young Children

Autism spectrum symptoms Children 9 months to 3 years old

1. Parent/Carer Concerns
   • Social skills deficit
   • Language skills or behavioral deficits
   • Frequent, persistent tantrums (often without a clear trigger)
   • Unable to adapt to changes in daily routine or transitional environment
2. Social communication and interaction disorders
   • Developmental regression or loss of skills (e.g., no longer speaking words that you once could)
   • Delayed or abnormal development of language skills (e.g., repetitive speech or lack of social speech)
   • Prefers to be alone or lacks joint attention
     (e.g., avoids eye contact, does not look when others point at an object)
3. Repetitive behaviors/narrow interests and atypical sensory responses*
   • Repetitive patterns of behavior and speech
     (e.g., arranging, stacking, or grouping objects; repeating speech, imitating speech
   • Exhibiting excessive interest in certain objects, toys, or parts of objects
   • Uneasy about daily routine or small changes
   • Repetitive body movements, including clapping, shaking, or spinning in circles
   • Sensory stimulation or unusual reactions to sensory experiences
     (e.g., to the sounds, smells, tastes, looks, or feel of things)

Autism spectrum symptoms 3 to 5 years old

1. Social communication and interaction disorders
   • Verbal and non-verbal communication disorders
   • Spoken language is deficient, delayed or degraded
   • Abnormal intonation (monotone, cadence) mimicking speech, inappropriate use of pronouns
     (still referring to oneself by name or "you", "he", "she" after age 3),
     non-verbal vocalizations (e.g., grunting, screaming)
   • Limited language communication skills
     (for example, even if you can speak sentences, you can only speak a single word)
   • Unresponsive or slow to respond when called by name
   • Reduced or missing non-verbal communication skills
     (e.g., gestures, facial expressions)
2. Lack of interest in others or failure to attempt to share interests with others
   • Lack of social smile or eye contact
   • Lack of imitation skills (e.g., not clapping)
   • Little or no social interaction
   • Lack of ability or interest in maintaining social interactions
   • Resisting being hugged
   • Lack of awareness of others; seems to only focus on oneself or immersed in one's own world
   • Prefers to play alone
   • Lack of interest in other children or strange social behavior toward other children
     (e.g., destructive, aggressive)
   • Lack of awareness of common social etiquette
     (e.g., taking turns, paying attention to personal space)
   • Lack of or unresponsiveness to other people’s feelings (e.g. happiness, pain)
   • Other atypical interactions with peers or adults
     (normal or even excessive social motivation, or limited ability to behave)
   • Unable to respect social etiquette or anticipate other people’s knowledge and interests, and unable to maintain a mutually enjoyable social interaction
3. Repetitive behaviors/narrow interests and atypical sensory responses*
   • Repetitive/stereotyped movement and vocal habits
     (e.g., clapping, shaking, mimicking speech)
   • Resist change and insist on following the same daily habits
   • Reenact or repeat a scene or line heard
     (for example, from a film or cartoon)
   • Atypical games. Repetitive games
     (for example, arranging objects, opening and closing doors, turning lights on and off.
   • Lack of imagination/creative play
   • No pretend play
     (e.g., feeding the doll)
   • Excessive attention to certain parts of the object
     (e.g., spinning wheels)
   • Lack of response or abnormal response to sensory stimulation
     (e.g., noise, texture, smell)

Medical research has confirmed that autism is related to genetics, and a new generation of genetic tests can help doctors and parents understand their children's condition better.