What is Autism?

Autism is a complex developmental disorder that severely impairs a child's ability to communicate and socialize with others. Children with autism often have sensitivities to touch, sounds, smells and visual stimuli. They may have difficulty processing information in the world around them, making it a stressful and, at times, frightening place. To cope, many children with autism become ritualistic and intolerant of change. Autism touches children of all races and economics levels, affecting boys 4 times more frequently than girls. Many believe autism occurs due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors, but there is still no proven cause.

Many children diagnosed with autism start life normally as engaging, babbling toddlers, meeting all their developmental milestones. But they then begin to slip away. They stop making eye contact and fail to show recognition towards others. They become silent, withdrawn, indifferent and sometimes inconsolable or self abusive. It can be devastating for the parents to lose a precious young child to this complex disorder.

No parent wants to have their child diagnosed with autism. But, many of the symptoms of autism are treatable.

The earlier a child with autism starts treatment and interventions, the better the outcome for that child.

Early Warning Signs of Autism (Red Flags)

• Does not turn and look (respond) when name is called
• Does not participate in back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or age.
• Does not gesture (point to objects, wave hello or bye-bye, etc.)
• Does not babble or coo by 12 months of age
• Does not say single words by 16 months of age
• Does not initiate two word phrases by 24 months of age
• Loses words or social skills at any age

Other possible symptoms:

• Does not smile when smiled at.
• Has poor eye contact
• Spends a lot of time lining things up or putting things in a certain order
• Gets "stuck" on doing the same things over and over - i.e., spins objects
• Is not interested in other children and prefers to play along
• Walks on his/ her toes
• Has odd movements or patterns

If your child is exhibiting any of these signs, please ask your pediatrician or family practitioner for an immediate evaluation.

For more information on autism, please visit http://www.firstsigns.org or the Centers for Disease Control at www.cdc.gov/actearly.