Autism is a disease incurable that affects six out of every thousand children under ten years old and alters the communication, relationship and imagination abilities of the child, without, for the moment, its exact causes are known or there is no cure.
However, it is known that early diagnosis is one of the keys to an effective treatment of this disorder, and we have already seen how to try to detect autism from the first babbling.
The parents must be attentive to the normal development of the child and, in case of detecting any anomaly or any issue that concerns us, go to the pediatrician. We should do so if we realize that the child has some of the signs that could indicate an autism spectrum disorder such as those listed below.
The child with possible autistic disorders may have the following signs:
- He does not speak as well as one should expect from a child his age, or does not speak anything.
- He does not seem to take into account the people around him.
- It does not respond or people's facial expressions or feelings.
- It has little or no imagination when playing or does not lend itself to symbolic play.
- He is not interested in other children or playing with them.
- Do not keep playing.
- Does not share your feelings of pleasure or happiness.
- You have problems with nonverbal communication (for example, eye contact, facial expressions ...).
- It does not point to an object for another person to look at.
- Absence of eye tracking.
- Does not start activities or game.
- Use unusually repetitive hand and finger movements.
- Shows unusual reactions, or lack of reaction, to sensory stimuli.
These data have been taken from the practical guide (in English) for families that in 2007 SIGN (within the Scottish National Health Service) developed autism in children and young people, including a chapter on detection, assessment and diagnosis.
It is important to remember that not all children with autism spectrum disorders will show all these signs. In addition, if the child has some of these signs, they may be indicators of disorders other than autism.
In any case, if the parents believe that there is any sign of possible autism in their young children, you have to consult the specialist to detect the problem, make the correct diagnosis and act in the most appropriate way.
