Early Symptoms of Autism

Normally, the initial step in the evaluation of any patient is the securing, by skillful questioning and careful listening, of a detailed historical account of all subjective symptoms that might conceivably pertain to the person's present illness.

The second part of the clinical examination is the discovery of physical signs.

However, there are instances where the finding of symptoms and signs are not clearly manifested at the first stage of the problem. These are mostly a problem in cases where the patient is still a baby or small child.

One great example is autism, especially in children.

Childhood Autism

Autism is, generally, a pervasive development disorder or better known as PDD, that manifests delayed development in basic communication skills.

The general symptom of childhood autism is not clearly diagnosed until about the child is already at his or her toddler or pre-school stage.

Autism is characterized by the child’s inability to communicate verbally or to emotionally bond with other people.

Early Signs and Symptoms of autism

Any suggestion the child is suffering from certain disorders such as autism should be thought of at once if the child exhibits specific behaviours. Abnormalities in whatever area of development as well as any signs of metabolic disorder should be immediately detected and diagnosed by a competent medical practitioner.

For some people, it is difficult to identify the probable symptoms of childhood autism. Usually, they confuse the child’s behavioral problems as something they thought is their fault because of the way the child has been brought up. Autism is not caused by environmental factors. In fact, no one knows what the exact causes of autism are.

However, the early diagnosis of the disorder is vital in helping the child minimize their problems. Treatments and therapies can then be started immediately when the problems are detected at their earliest stage.

Here are some of the basic indicators associated with infants as young as 1 year old.

• Be wary if your child is not able to manifest normal gestures such as pointing or waving by the time he turns one year old.Normally, children should be adept in more gestures that show proper body and brain coordination such as waving bye-bye or pointing to certain objects that fascinates them by the time that they turn one.If, in any case, your child does not manifest gestures such as those mentioned, then, your child is most likely a candidate for autism.
• No chatting or coos by 12 months of age. This may mean your child has delayed communication developments, which is the primary indicator of childhood autism. 
• By the time your child reaches 16 months and still he cannot utter even a single word, then, he may be having difficulty with verbal communication, which is one of the vital signs in autism.
• When children reach 24 months and still, they do not utter two-word phrases on their own and keep on repeating what other people are saying could mean early signs of autism.
• Your child may be autistic if he or she had lost any communication or social skills they once had.

These early symptoms are very important in identifying the probability that the child is autistic. Thus, parents and the people around them should be aware these signs are not normal and could be good indicators of autism.

Keep in mind the consequences of neglect in reporting or failure to realize the true gravity of your child's condition.

By the time people realize or acept their child is autistic, it may be too late to start their optimum treatment.