What are the signs of autism in babies? Some early signs of autism in infants and young children may include avoidance of eye contact and delays in language development. Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a developmental condition that can affect how a person behaves, interacts, and communicates.
Research suggests that reduced or absent communication, including lack of response to their name, lack of gesturing, and language delays, are strong indicators of autism. For example: At 4 months of age , a baby should begin to make sounds, babble, or coo. At 6 months , babies often begin to respond to their name.
At both ages, those in the autism and disability groups are more likely than the controls to transition quickly from whimpering to intense crying. This suggests that the children have trouble managing their emotions, the researchers say.
ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger. By age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered reliable. However, many children do not receive a final diagnosis until much older. Some people are not diagnosed until they are adolescents or adults.
Many children with autism, even those with high-functioning autism, have difficulty learning to engage in everyday human interaction. They may avoid interactions or eye contact or even resist parental attention, hugs, or cuddling.
Understanding the Response to Affection
For instance, some children with ASD may appear disinterested when engaged in play or in response to affection from loved ones while others may have an overly affectionate child with autism. Individuals with autism can also have an aversion to touch.
Rarely shares enjoyment with you
Babies readily share enjoyment with you by smiling or laughing and looking at you. Some children with autism smile to show they're happy but don't share their enjoyment. Others show little facial expression or have flat affect and rarely smile so you may not know when they're happy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that a baby can show signs of ASD from the age of 9 months . However, the Autism Science Foundation states that early signs of ASD may appear in babies as young as 2 months of age.
Although the exact cause of autism is still unknown, there is evidence to suggest that genetics play a significant role. Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father.
Speak to your healthcare provider or a paediatrician if you're worried about your baby's eye contact. Some babies have vision impairment from birth or develop it due to a medical condition, injury or disease. This can impact their ability to make eye contact and be a sign there's something that needs looking into.
Overall, infants later diagnosed with autism are quieter than the controls. And at 9 to 12 months of age, they produce an average of 4.5 syllables per minute, compared with 5.8.
Autistic children can have particular sleep and settling problems, including: irregular sleeping and waking patterns – for example, lying awake until very late or waking very early in the morning. sleeping much less than expected for their age, or being awake for more than an hour during the night.
One of the core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the frequency and persistence of repetitive and stereotyped movements during toddlerhood, together with restricted interests and activities. Evidence for this is mainly found in studies with infants ages 1 year and older.
We found a 52% rate of children with ASD still being breastfed at six months of age. This is higher than the 19% rate reported in the general paediatric population25, but consistent with the 51% rate reported in another population of children with ASD by Soke et al.20.
With babies and toddlers, the symptoms of autism are about what the child does NOT do at a typical age. The symptoms listed below happen at a variety of ages, but they are all things that a child with autism may NOT do. These symptoms include: Child does not make eye contact (e.g. when being fed);
In the case of vocal stimming (or verbal stimming), the child might make noises such as groaning, grunting, high- pitched screeching, squealing, humming, or repeating random words, words to a familiar song, phrases, or lines from a movie.
There is not just one cause of ASD. There are many different factors that have been identified that may make a child more likely to have ASD, including environmental, biologic, and genetic factors.
A 2022 study found that a routine second-trimester ultrasound could detect early signs of autism during pregnancy,18 including anomalies in the heart, head, and kidneys. These anomalies were found in 30% of fetuses who were later diagnosed with ASD, a three times higher rate than typical fetuses.
Autism Parents By Age
One study found that the chance of having ASD for children born to parents who are in their thirties is up to 10 percent higher than parents who are 25 to 29 years old. The same researchers found that the chance of developing ASD is 50 percent higher when the parents are in their 40s or 50s.
Within 7 hours after birth infants take a remarkable interest in their mothers' faces and have been shown to imitate facial expressions made by caregivers. Between 6-10 weeks, baby begins to direct her eyes more intentionally by looking directly at her caregiver and holding the gaze with eyes widening.
While you can't prevent having a child with an autistic disorder, you can increase your odds of having a healthy baby by doing these lifestyle changes: Live healthy. Have regular check-ups, eat well-balanced meals, and exercise. Make sure you have good prenatal care, and take all recommended vitamins and supplements.
Sometimes, autistic children may even not like to be held, hugged, or touched by anyone and may be fussy or reactive when forced to do so.
Many children with autism are drawn to water for its calming, sensory experience. In fact, a 2015 study[1] found that children with ASD enjoy swimming significantly more than children without ASD.
In fact, a recent comprehensive review of research on the subject confirms that children with autism are five times more likely to struggle with eating issues compared to their typically developing peers.