Autism Spectrum Disorders Health Center

Understanding Autism -- Symptoms

What Are the Symptoms of Autism?

A child with autism spectrum disorder may have problems in three different areas -- socializing, communicating, and behavior.  

Each child with an autism spectrum disorder will have his or her own individual pattern of behavior: Sometimes, a child's development is delayed from birth; other children develop normally before suddenly losing social or language skills. In some children, a loss of language is the impairment; in others, unusual behaviors (like spending hours lining up toys) predominate.

Parents are usually the first to notice something is wrong. Unfortunately, there is often a significant delay in parents bringing their concerns to the doctor and in doctors referring a child to a specialist. Parents should trust their instincts if they feel their child is not developing normally.

Some red flags are:

• No babbling by 9 months
• No pointing or gestures by 12 months
• Not responding to their name by 12 months of age
• No single words by 16 months
• Lack of pretend play by 18 months
• No two-word phrases by 24 months
• Any loss of language or social skills at any age

Other signs of autism to look for include:

• Extreme difficulty in learning language
• Inappropriate response to people: A child with autism may avoid eye contact, resist being picked up or cuddled, and seem to tune out the world.
• Inability or reduced ability to play cooperatively with other children or to make friends
• Inability to understand other people's feelings
• Need for a rigid, highly structured routine -- and being very distressed by changes in routines
• Extreme hyperactivity or unusual passivity, and extreme resistance to change
• Aggressive, self-injurious behavior
• Repetitive body movements, including pacing, hand flicking, twisting, spinning, rocking, or hitting oneself
• Insensitivity to pain or lack of response to cold or heat
• Impulsive behavior and no real fear of dangers
• An unusual attachment to inanimate objects such as toys, strings, or spinning objects
• Frequent crying and tantrums for no apparent reason
• Peculiar speech patterns: A child with autism may use words without understanding their meanings.
• Abnormal responses to sensations such as light, sound, and touch: At times, a child with autism may appear deaf or may be extremely distressed by everyday noises.
• Some of these symptoms occur in children with other disabilities. Symptoms can change as the child grows older.

Call Your Doctor About Autism If:

• Your infant or child resists cuddling and doesn't respond to his or her environment or to other people
• By about the age of 1 year, your child is not pointing to objects, bringing items to you, or engaging in simple interactions such as "peek-a-boo"
• By the age of 16 months, your child is not using any words or attempting to communicate
• Your child bangs his or her head or demonstrates self-injurious behavior or aggression on a regular basis
• Your child demonstrates unusually repetitive behavior, such as repeatedly opening and closing doors or turning a toy car upside down and repeatedly spinning its wheels