Are there early signs of autism that can show up before the age of 2? Actually, a child can be diagnosed before the age of 2, and as early as 6 months old.
Early Signs of autism before age 2 may include;
Some of the symptoms will be their lack of eye contact with you. Typically baby's will look you right in your eyes, but a baby with autism will avoid this, even at this early age. They don't respond when you play games such as peek-a-boo, they do not do any cooing the typical baby noises they make. They aren't smiling at the average as well, their response to you is very limited. They almost seem like a baby that is just content to sit there and observe the world.
As they become older, they will be slow in their speech. If you have noticed that they are not communicating with you, they may not be pointing at things, they don't reach out and grab items. Also, notice if they respond to their name when you call them.
They are indifferent in their response to others. They seem to be in a world of their own, not really noticing those people around them. They will exhibit repetitive movements such as hand flapping or 'stimming', or rocking behavior. They can become hyper-focused on a certain object, as if to be in a daze, or completely fascinated by it's action.
By the age of 2, they still may not be talking. There are children that have Autism Spectrum Disorder, may not be speaking and the stimming will become more intense and frequent. They become upset or frustrated when you break their routine or alter it in any way. They have safety in this routine, they know what to expect, when it is disrupted, they are not sure how to handle it.
Autism Spectrum Disorder has this name because of the many levels of autism. Because every child will be at his own level, the early signs of autism will also vary. There may a child that has symptoms of hand flapping, some that are non-verbal, some that are very excitable and jump around to express that excitement.
These are just a few of the early signs of autism, and remember, they can vary from child to child.
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