Early Signs Of Autism In Babies

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months and continued breastfeeding for as long as possible. Growing up milks are formulated to meet nutrition needs of healthy young children older than 1 year and should not be fed to infants.

Autism is a spectrum of disorders that have the same major signs and symptoms. It usually shows in babies during breastfeeding and early childhood, causing delays in basic areas of development, such as learning to talk, play and interacting with others.

Autism signs and symptoms differ from every other child. Same goes for its complications. And while some autistic children have moderate disorders, others may face more complicated obstacles. In other words, for every autistic child out there tailored problems divided into three levels:

• Verbal and non-verbal communication
• Social interaction with people around
• Flexible thinking and behaving

As for the causes lying behind autism and the perfect way to treat it, doctors, experts and parents still argue about it, while they all agree that early and intensive intervention helps autistic children and whoever shows early signs of this disorder, and makes a difference in their lives.

It is to be noted that early signs of autism do not include abnormal behaviors but the lack of few normal ones. In some cases, parents may misunderstand autism signs and consider them as “good” behaviors and a calm and independent character. Nevertheless, warning signs of autism remain obvious if child’s parents know what and where to look for.

Hereby are some of the most important signs of autism in children, beware!

• Inability to communicate through eye contact (between 2 and 3 months old)
• Not smiling at you (at 3 months)
• Not laughing (at 6 months)
• Not following you with his eyes when walking away from him (at 8 months)
• Inability to gaggle (at 9 months)
• Inability to look at you when you call his name (at 1 year old)
• Inability to point at things and wave bye-bye. Not shaking his head to say no and not following your finger (at one year old)
• Showing more interest in things than persons or preferring to play with some parts of a toy or not imitating sounds and gestures (at one year old)
• Not speaking any word (at 16 months old)
• Incapacity to form a useful sentence of 2 words (at 2 years old)

In addition to these signs, your kid may not respond to hugs, and may not want you to hold him. He may also not look at you when breastfeeding him. And as he gets older, be sure that his symptoms will expand and vary so they will include an obvious disorder in social skills, language and speech difficulties, non-verbal communication difficulty, and non flexible behaviors.

To avoid reaching this stage, you will have to observe your child closely and consult his doctor about any doubt concerning his growth so he can put him on treatment at an early stage. The younger your child is the greater the impact of treatment on symptoms. Anyways, whatever your child’s age, don’t lose hope, for treatment can reduce his disorder and enhance his capacities to learn, develop and progress. 

Read More: Social And Emotional Development In Babies