Autism Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), a group of illnesses that involve delays in the development of many basic skills, most notably the ability to socialize or form relationships with others as well as the ability to communicate and to use imagination (including fantasy play). Children with autism and related disorders often are confused in their thinking and generally have problems understanding the world around them.

In addition to problems with social interaction, imagination, and communication, children with autism also have a limited range of interests. Many children with autism (nearly 75%) also have mental retardation. In many cases, children with autism are unable to emotionally bond with their parents or other family members.

Autism and Your Child

Each child with an autism spectrum disorder will have his or her own individual pattern of autism. Sometimes, a child's development is delayed from birth. Other children with autism 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.

Continue reading about types of autism spectrum disorders, such as Asperger's, Rett's, and more.

What Are the Symptoms of Autism?

Symptoms of autism typically appear before a child is 3 years old and last throughout life. Children with autism can display a wide range of symptoms, which can vary in severity from mild to disabling. General symptoms that may be present to some degree in a child with autism include:

Difficulty with verbal communication, including problems using and understanding language.
Inability to participate in a conversation, even when the child has the ability to speak.
Difficulty with non-verbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions.
Difficulty with social interaction, including relating to people and to his or her surroundings.
Inability to make friends and preferring to play alone.
Unusual ways of playing with toys and other objects, such as only lining them up a certain way.
Lack of imagination.
Difficulty adjusting to changes in routine or familiar surroundings, or an unreasonable insistence on following routines in detail.
Repetitive body movements, or patterns of behavior, such as hand flapping, spinning, and head banging.
Preoccupation with unusual objects or parts of objects.

People with a form of autism, called savantism, have exceptional skills in specific areas such as music, art, and numbers. People with savantism are able to perform these skills without lessons or practice.

What Are the Warning Signs That a Child may Have Autism?

Babies develop at their own pace, some more quickly than others. However, you should consider an evaluation for autism if any of the following apply:

Your child does not babble or coo by 12 months of age.
Your child does not gesture, such as point or wave, by 12 months of age.
Your child does not say single words by 16 months.
Your child does not say two-word phrases on his or her own (rather than just repeating what someone else says) by 24 months.
Your child has lost any language or social skills (at any age).

What Causes Autism?

The exact cause of autism is not known, but research has pointed to several possible factors, including genetics (heredity), certain types of infections, and problems occurring at birth.

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