Table of Contents
Introduction
Autism is a set of behaviors having to do with communication and understanding. It is the name for a group of developmental disorders that affect a person’s ability to communicate, understand language, play and socially interact with others.
A person with autism may have some or all of the following behaviors:
- Not respond to his or her name by 12 months of age
- Not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14 months
- Not play “pretend” games (pretend to “feed” a doll) by 18 months
- Avoid eye contact and want to be alone
- Have trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
- Have delayed speech and language skills
- Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
- Give unrelated answers to questions
- Get upset by minor changes
- Have obsessive interests
Babies are natural explorers
But babies are natural explorers, too. They don’t just like the color blue — they love it! They’ll sit in a bouncer or swing and look at it over and over again, looking for something to discover. So you want your baby product packaging to look as visually stimulating as possible, right?
It’s important to consider both the color of your baby product packaging and its visual appeal, because it’s going to be around with your baby longer than any shopping bag or gift box ever will be.
Babies are drawn to look at people and interact
As infants and toddlers, babies are drawn to look at people and interact, which makes them great product testers. It’s important to remember that children in the 0-3 age range are developmentally unable to hold a pen or click a mouse. They don’t know what they’re looking at, but they’re definitely interested in it. Put something on a table or counter and include a toy, and most kids will go right for it.
Early signs of autism in babies (6 months to one year) may include:
- No big smiles or other warm, joyful and engaging expressions by six months or thereafter
- Limited or no eye contact
- No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions
- Being unable to start or sustain a social interaction
- Poor ability to imitate movements and to use toys and objects
- No attempt to imitate sounds, facial expressions or gestures
Early signs of autism in toddlers up to 24 months may include:
- Lack of interest in other people and activities;
- Difficulty making friends;
- Repeating certain words or phrases;
- Frequent temper tantrums;
- Hyperactivity or overactivity;
- Having unusual food preferences (like dislike of certain textures);
- Having unusual sleep habits (like staying up all night);
- Having an excessive interest in objects (or a fascination with one object);
- Making unusual sounds or sounds that don’t seem to make sense to others.
Early signs of autism in young children up to 36 months may include:
- No babbling or pointing by age 1
- No single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2
- No response to name
- Loss of language or social skills at any age
- Poor eye contact
- Excessive lining up of toys or objects
- No smiling or social responsiveness
Why should you get an assessment?
Every child faces different challenges at different stages of their life. While some kids might not be able to speak or walk at a certain age, there might be others who do so without any problem. This is because every child grows and matures at their own pace and this makes them unique in their own way. However, when it comes to autistic kids, they face problems that are more than just developmental delays.
Who will be involved in the assessment?
Autism assessments are usually carried out by a multidisciplinary team. This means that different professionals, who have different areas of expertise, will work together to assess your child.
Each member of the team will have a specific role to play in the assessment process, but they will also share their knowledge and skills with other members of the team.
The team may include:
- an educational psychologist
- a speech and language therapist (SLT)
- a paediatrician or child psychiatrist
- a social worker