With the incidents of autism up 172% since the 1990’s, parents are anxious to find out if their baby has a chance to acquire autism. Seven out of every ten thousand infants will develop autism within the first three years of life.
The sad thing about the diagnosis of autism is that the symptoms are subtle to about one and half years of age and most doctors and even parents are hard pressed to find what symptoms they should worry about and what symptoms they should ignore.
Since the baby is developing so fast, the symptoms do not usually manifest themselves until you see the baby regressing from the speech and social skills they have learned so far. Remember that not one single behaviour will point to autism, though a single symptom should not be ignored. The diagnosis of autism is still largely undefined because the autistic child can acquire various degrees of the disorder.
The first thing a parent should be aware of is loss of some speech or behaviour that has been learned and is now not used, or appears to be forgotten. For example, the words Daddy or Mommy was in the vocabulary and for some reason they are used less and less, the child may be losing the brain function for memory and communication. If the words are dropped from the vocabulary all together and no new words replaced, it is time for concern.
Another subtle symptom that could or could not be autism is the formation of two sentence words by the second year of age. If a child cannot form simple sentences like ‘Daddy go’ or ‘Mommy love’ it can signify that your child may have the beginnings of autism. This is not always the case though. Your child may have another disability that deals with speech and language or a learning disability and autism should not be considered the object of the speech process, but is something to look at if you have concerns that your infant is at risk of autism.
At an even younger age, around the first year, if your child does not say any words or even babble, then your concerns might be warranted for autism. Remember there are other disorders out there that manifest themselves in the same way, but the autistic aware parent should count this as one of the major symptoms and should be concerned.
If your child displays one or any of these characteristics, than you should take them to a medical professional. Remember from the previous chapters that doctors who are unfamiliar with autism will be hesitant to diagnose the disorder. If you are not happy with the diagnosis of your doctor, take your child to a few more so you will have a clear conscious and a satisfied mind.
Another thing is to watch your baby’s body language and expression of emotion. If you are warm and cuddly with your baby and your baby does not react the way you have seen other babies do, this could be a red flag for autism.
Observe other reactions such as severe stress over loud noises or sudden moves. If you are talking to your baby and you get no response or you wave your hands in front of your baby and there is no eye contact or reaction, there can be something wrong.
Even if it is just a feeling that you have, you need to seek medical attention so you can find out if your baby has autism or another disorder. There is no cure for autism, but an early diagnosis can not only add to the base of knowledge about autism but at the same time can help get your baby treatment as soon as possible.
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