Children with autism play differently than those who don't have autism. They often like to repeat actions over and over and line up objects, rather than playing pretend. They usually prefer to play alone and have challenges working together with others.
Autism in young children
avoiding eye contact. not smiling when you smile at them. getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound. repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body.
Autistic children enjoy play and learn through play, just as typically developing children do. Through playing with others, your child can learn and practise new social skills and abilities. These skills are important for your child's overall development.
Imaginary or pretend play is an activity that typically developing (TD) children engage in frequently and spontaneously. However, children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show deficits in this behavior.
Toddlers will take to hand flapping when they're anxious, excited, and even upset. Children suffering from autism flap their hands as self-stimulatory behavior also called 'stims'.
The child may seem to have one-sided social interaction and limited ability to form friendships. He or she may often talk incessantly about one subject, without acknowledging the listener. Toddler's with HFA usually have difficulty in social situations (e.g., imaginative play with other kids).
Research says that autistic children spend more time on screen than children who do not have autism. About 64.2 percent of young adults with ASD spend their free time on TV, and video games and 13.2 percent of young adults with ASD spend time on social media sites, emails, and chatting.
excited – some children with ASD might flap their hands when they're excited. Typically developing children stim too, such as when a child jumps up and down in excitement.
Autistic children value play with their peers and many are able to play with each other. However, they may communicate more visually and with their hands, rather than in the more verbal way of other children. They may need different facilitation strategies and more support than their neurotypical peers.
Repetitive behaviour
For example, children might: make repetitive noises like grunts, throat-clearing or squealing. do repetitive movements like body-rocking or hand-flapping. do things like flicking a light switch repeatedly.
Children with autism spectrum disorder have good vocabularies but unusual ways of expressing themselves. They may talk in a monotone voice and do not recognize the need to control the volume of their voice, speaking loudly in libraries or movie theaters, for example.
Rest assured. You are not alone and autistic child behaviour problems and harmful actions such as biting, pinching, or throwing things can be a common behaviour for children on the spectrum.
What are the early warning signs for autism spectrum disorder? The early warning signs for an ASD include concerns about a child's social skills, communication, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, activities, and emotional regulation.
not consistently respond to their name being called. not consistently use gestures on their own – for example, they might not wave bye-bye or clap without being asked to, or they might not nod for yes or shake their head for no. not consistently smile back at you or other familiar people when you smile at them.
They have specific repetitive behaviors such as running in circles, lining things in rows, spinning or spot jumping especially when unoccupied, bored, unhappy or upset. They can become rote in routines such as specific seats, routes and schedules. So they may not adapt well to changes in the environment or schedules.
Children with autism mainly produce one sort of laughter — voiced laughter, which has a tonal, song-like quality. This type of laughter is associated with positive emotions in typical controls.
Children with ASD often need a hug, just like other children. Sometimes they need this much more than other children. But some children don't like to be touched. Respect their personal space.
Young children may express more voiced than unvoiced laughter, as they haven't yet learned to purposely laugh. The test group of autistic children laughed just about as often as the non-autistic kids, but the autistic children's laughter was 98 percent voiced, while non-autistic children produced both types.
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.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.
The behavioral symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often appear early in development. Many children show symptoms of autism by 12 months to 18 months of age or earlier.
People with mild autism still have a hard time communicating and interacting with others. They can also find it difficult to change their routine and can be sensitive to sounds, pain, tastes, or other sensations. But generally, they are able to carry out the tasks of daily living well.