Most common signs of Autism

Is he abnormal?

Will he talk?

Why is he spinning so much?

Why is he not responding to my instructions?

Will he have a career of himself?

Have you heard these things from people every time you mention autism or do you have such thoughts yourself? I am a speech language pathologist and I am trained to help people improve their communication skills- speech being one of them. For the longest time, I used to feel autism needs to be treated and that autistic people are abnormal in some way. I was trained to make them look me in the eye, repeat what I say and take turns while playing. In short, I was trained to teach "social skills" because that would solve everything. It was only after a few years of teaching social skills and seeing no improvement, I decided to learn better. I am still learning and I have understood that it's going to be a continuous process. Once I understood that autistic individuals are different and not less, that changed everything for me.

Autism is not an illness or disease that can be cured. It is a neurotype which can be disabling for some people. It is a different way of experiencing the world, feeling and being. Signs of autism might be noticed when you're very young, or not until you're older. Autism is different for everyone. Autism is a spectrum. This means everybody with autism is different. Some autistic people need little or no support. Others may need help from a parent or carer every day. Autism can be diagnosed as early as 18 months of age.

At 18 months, if you notice any of these signs then you can contact a developmental pediatrician for a formal diagnosis.

🔵Delayed speech- Child prefers to point or drag the parent to ask for something instead of talking.

🔵Difficulty with eating- Child may prefer eating foods of certain textures, taste and smell. Child may not chew and take very long to finish a meal.

🔵Focused interests - Child may be passionate about animals, cars, letters (or anything else) and prefer playing with it again and again.

🔵Prefer routine- Child like to line up toys, arrange them, keep things in the same place always. If the routine gets changed, then the child may not like it.

🔵Difference in processing sensory information - Child may find some sounds to be too loud or too soft, may not like being touched or hugged, may find lights to be too bright.

To answer the questions mentioned above, a lot of autistic people are able to talk to meet their communication needs and do thrive in the society as successful individuals. Some may require support for which medication and therapies can be helpful. Consult a developmental pediatrician if in doubt!

Note- Every autistic child may not have all of these characteristics. Look out for these signs because early intervention is the key! In the next post, I will be talking about the least common signs of autism.

Written by

Tanvi Sanghavi

Speech language pathologist