Parents, keep your eyes opened to these signals

Repetitive “Mannerism-like” Behavior

• Such behaviors are “non–conclusional.” These activities appear to be like mannerisms –but are not. These signs are always assessed depending on frequency and consistency –also depending on severity. These signs may or may not stay after the child reaches 3 years of age. Having said that, if your child shows progress of minimizing some of these symptoms over his/her first few years, chances are he/she has developmental delay, sensori-motor dysregulation or better yet, may not have the condition at all. A few examples of these “mannerisms” are:
  • Hand Flapping
  • Walking on Tiptoes
  • Head banging on floors/walls
  • Spinning/Jumping
  • Etc.

• Children with ASD show a certain obsession on a certain activity, which they usually prefer to do in isolation.
  • You would notice them preoccupied most of the time with narrow range of activity interest.
    • They do something over and over again for long periods of time.
    • Like Pouring Drinks from a cup to another then back
    • Like Playing with toys and lining them up over and over again

• Speaks the same phrase over and over
  • Being silent is usually the case of ASD, but sometimes these children would speak certain words or phrases repetitively
  • They won’t make any sense to your ears, but this is due to their innate struggle to communicate your way.

Social Misbehavior

• Children with ASD are often called “special” And in fact they are! Each child with ASD has his/her own perception of the world. They have a special sense of likes and dislikes, good and bad, and joy and sadness. They perceive the norm very differently. Understanding this, they usually have unmet expectations with what they receive from their parents and the people around them –causing plenty of social misbehavior.
  • Tantrums
    • Yes it’s hard to know what they really want from you –especially when you have already given them what you thought they want, but they still haven’t stopped crying and screaming.
  • Excessive Aggression
    • They are hard to control. And when you try to hold them or restrain them they become very aggressive –usually hurting themselves in the process.
      • Sometimes they hurt you and bite you, and sometimes they hurt themselves in many different ways.
    • Sometimes they even show signs that they enjoy hurting themselves or being punished and may even repeat the same mistake.
  • Hypereactive to stimuli
    • Children with ASD are very sensitive to sensory input. This makes them very irritable and hypersensitive to external stimulation.
      • This could be seen when they have a very special dislike of certain things, like being very picky on foods, very picky on what they wear, and etc.

Struggles with Communication

• Since these children have their own perception of the world around them, it’s normal to conclude that they also develop their own perception of communication. Their “normal” is not our normal –making it very difficult for them and for the people around them to communicate with each other, whether it is verbal or non-verbal. In general,
  • They don’t understand cues, body language, and tone of voice.
  • They don’t understand actions and reasons for these actions (which is why they always react differently).
  • They can’t even understand facial expressions and the proper emotions people around them feel –nor can they express the proper emotions they should.
    • This makes it even harder for parents to properly discipline their kids as they grow up.
  • Heavily Delayed Progress of Speech & Communication Skills
    • At the age of 2-3, children normally develops a more precise vocabulary in their communication learning. But if your child still babbles in his/her 4-5 years of age –then it could be a definitive sign of ASD.
    • Underdevelopment may not be exactly the accurate term to describe autism. They have a different way of perceiving and understanding things –which is why they are often isolated as if they are living in their own world… which leads us to the 4^th and last topic…

Social Disconnection

• Isolated, disconnected, detached, aloof, reserved… these are the words people usually use to describe the social activity of someone who is autistic.
  • Living in their own world
    • This is due to their inability to properly interpret social gestures, expressions, and emotions –they feel detached from a world that’s very puzzling to them.
      This is why these children are in need of special care and guidance.

• Lack of Response to Words and Sound
  • ASD usually comes with elusive behavior. When you talk to them, they usually don’t respond. Sometimes they behave like they don’t even hear you.
  • They don’t respond to their names in frequent occasions
    • It doesn’t matter how hard you shout it at them.

• Poor eye contact
  • If you’re a parent, or someone who has spent time long enough with an autistic child, you may have noticed that these children avoid eye contact with you as much as possible
    • This may be a clear sign of being socially detached due to autism.

Conclusion

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