At eighteen months, I laid out a set of flannel planets across the living room in hopes of engaging my son. He was constantly in motion, rarely stopped to interact with his parents, and just seemed uninterested in what was going on around him. Still, he was very verbal. Extremely so, as well as highly intelligent. It felt like my job was to harness his energy and help engage his brain, so I kept trying to find the thing that would delight him.
With the planets spread out, I pointed to each one and named them with an excited voice. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars….and so on. When I got to Pluto, he paused for just a second and said, “Again!”
So, I named them again. Mercury, Venus, Earth, and so on. And he repeated the same response with increasing intensity. “Again!!”
We continued this way until I exhausted from the labeling. He never tired. When we were finished, he could name all the planets with ease and repeated the words to himself without a care as to whether or not someone was listening to him. As he repeated the words over and over, I knew he had autism.
He hadn’t exhibited the more obvious signs of autism, like lack of eye contact or delayed verbal communication, but he was rigid and unsocial and did not care if someone was present to interact with him or not.
He absolutely exhibited some of the lesser-discussed signs of autism, which include:
Play stops when others join:
Often children with warning signs for autism are great at playing alone, even for extended periods of time, but when caregivers or other children try to join the child in play, the child will become uninterested or start to act badly because they are much more comfortable with isolated, self-focused, engagement. Children who might be diagnosed with high functioning autism are not motivated by social play in the same way that typically developing peers might be. In fact, if someone tries to join them, they will abandon their play. Pay attention to what happens when you join your child in play. If they walk away when you join, start to pay attention to how often that happens.
Labels things excellently, but doesn’t make requests:
It is not always a red flag when language is delayed, but when language develops disproportionately, that is also a cause for concern. Verbal children with warning signs for autism will talk sometimes more than their same age peers, but the content of their conversation is an important consideration. Kids who are great at labeling, but who do not make requests equally, could be a risk.
Doesn’t look for support:
All young children are learning to explore their environment, but reckless behavior without consideration for support and approval from trusted adults is a warning sign for autism. Children who consistently run into traffic, climb onto high places, grab for heavy objects, and rarely listen to or look for reassurance are at risk for autism.
Intense interests that have depth rather than breadth:
All kids have interests, even obsessions, but kids at risk for autism will be pre-occupied with their interests in such a way that it occupies all their time and seems like an unquenchable quest for participation in that subject.
Interacts with people like props:
Autism is known to cause social impairments that can be obvious when interacting, like diminished eye contact, but when engagement with others IS happening, the quality of interaction should be considered. If a child is interacting with caregivers in a way that lacks smiling, sharing, and reciprocity, it can be a warning sign.
Lacks normal requests for attention:
Gaining attention should look like eye contact, pointing, and leading by the hand during early childhood, and words like ‘look’ or ‘come see’ or ‘watch me’ as a child grows. If requests for attention are lacking or are atypcial, this is an area that should be watched carefully.
Remember:
None of these signs on their own is enough to worry about autism, but if they occur in a cluster or you feel concerned about your child’s development, you should talk to your doctor about your concerns.
Like what you’re learning? Pin it for later!
