Slideshow
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Unresponsiveness
Babies that fail to respond to their name by the age of 12 months or that are consistently unresponsive to the voice of a parent may be displaying early signs of an ASD.
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Temper tantrums
Other signs include resistance to physical affection, crying when hugged or held and frequent temper tantrums. Children who have an ASD are often attached to routine and may get upset if it changes.
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Unusual sensory responses
Over or under reactions to pain or loud noise is common among children with ASD. Abnormal eating habits are another symptom, with some children preferring only a few foods and others eating nonfood items like dirt or rocks. Chronic constipation and diarrhea may occur.
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Playing alone
Children with ASD prefer to play alone and may only interact with others to achieve a desired goal. Avoiding eye contact is common. Some children with ASD may not be interested in other people at all, while others may want friends but not understand how to develop relationships. Learning to take turns and share can be difficult for children with ASD.
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Difficulty communicating
People with ASD have trouble understanding jokes, sarcasm or teasing. Communication skills vary among children, with about 40% not speaking at all. Between 25% and 30% develop words at 12 to 18 months of age and then lose them. Those who do speak may repeat certain words or phrases over and over, reverse pronouns or talk in a flat, robot-like, or sing song voice. They might talk about something they like a lot instead of having a back-and-forth conversation.
