Most of the time, we are writing about children that are already identified to have autism. At Kindred Kids, we don’t always see identified children; sometimes children find their way to us before identification. In this case, parents may be wondering if they should be getting their child assessed or not.
I can only make a recommendation on what I’m seeing, and sometimes, I may try to help you make that decision through historical signals of autism. So, here are a few things that I would be considering or asking about!
Here are some early signs of autism to consider for under the age of 2:
1. Eye contact – does you child make eye contact with you? If so, do they use it to ask for items, share something important to them, or just to see where you are?
2. Pointing – can your child point to something interesting or something they want? Do they respond by pointing to a picture in a book that you’ve asked about? Can they follow your point to a location?
3. Gestures – does your kiddo make hand or mouth movements to tell you they want something? If they are wanting more bubbles, they might make a blowing gesture with their mouth?
4. Words – how many words do they have? Do they put words together?
5. Imitation – do they imitate something you’ve done?
6. Play – do they play with toys or objects? Do they play repetitively with them or does the play tend to “grow” with different ideas?
7. Understanding their name – do they respond when you say their name? Does it change within different settings?
8. Social – does your child smile back when you smile? Are they interested in other children? Can they parallel play with other kids?
9. Losing skills – did your child have skills that they have since seemed to lose?
This is certainly not a definitive list, and only a qualified assessor will be able to identify autism for your kiddo. Hopefully, this has given you some food for thought on what to look at in the early years. Have questions or want to go over some of the questions above? Kindred Kids has a free 30 minute initial phone consultation to chat to you! Book yours today by calling 07 5406 2044.
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