Autism Symptoms
In autism, symptoms may appear during infancy and, in most cases, the diagnosis is confirmed by the time the child is 3 years old. Sometimes the child develops normally till the age of 2 years and then autism symptoms appear rapidly.In some cases of autism, the symptoms may overlap with other pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) like Asperger's Syndrome.
Autism Symptoms
In infants with autism, symptoms often include either over-sensitivity or over-sensitivity to any sort of sensory stimulus (touch, sound, light etc.).
Other autism symptoms in infants and children include:
* Indifference to surroundings
* Appears comfortable alone
* Happier playing alone
* No interest in toys
* Does not respond to others
* No proto-declarative pointing (pointing out interesting objects to others)
* Does not like to be cuddled
* Impaired language development
* Difficulty expressing needs
* Echolalia (repetition of words or phrases)
Some other commonly encountered autism symptoms include tantrums, self-injury (especially head banging), almost no eye contact,repetitive actions (turning in circles, flapping hands etc.) and resistance to change in routine.The child may not show any response to regular teaching methods and may exhibit a fixation with pieces (may focus on the wheels on a toy car rather than the whole car.
In a large number of autistic people, failure to make friends with other children their own age,lack of empathy (understanding another person's viewpoint and feelings),problems starting a conversation or sustaining a conversation once it has been started and not being able to understand humor are some common symptoms irrespective of age.
Another unusual but common autism symptom is the fascination of adults or, even, older children with weather patterns, train or bus schedules or license plates.
During teenage,many autistic people gain skills but are still unable to relate to or empathize with others.In teens with autism, symptoms like depression, epilepsy and anxiety are also common.