There are many common autism symptoms and signs that occur at different stages of a child’s life. Autistic children are less interested in playing or being with other people than non-autistic children are. They may not look at you or respond to your voice.
Your autistic child may not look at your face or smile or laugh when you think he should. He may not turn to you when you talk or seem to know his name. He might not copy your actions as other children do. When he plays, he may prefer to play alone.
Autistic children have trouble talking and showing feelings
When autistic children learn to talk, they may repeat words over and over or copy what you are saying. They often learn to talk late and may stop talking after they start.
Older children or adults with autism spectrum disorder might talk non-stop and not let anyone else join in.
Children with autism may also have trouble showing their feelings with non-talking actions. They may not know to point to things they want or to show you they don’t like something. They may not even let you know when they are hurt. They may not understand what your tone of voice means or what you mean when you shake your head or wave goodbye.
Autistic children do things over and over
Many children on the autism spectrum flap their hands or move their fingers over and over again. They might rock back and forth or turn in circles for long stretches of time. Some autistic children like to put things in a certain order and then change the order many times.
They often put toys in long lines and keep changing the order instead of playing with them as other children do. They may like a certain toy, but only care about one part of it. An autistic child who likes a truck may only want to play with the truck’s wheels.
Autistic children do not like change
Autistic children of any age get upset easily and do not like change. They can be very moody and irritable or get angry and strike out at you if you try to stop what they are doing. They may throw tantrums and try to hurt themselves as well as others. They may also get angry or upset if they are touched too much or exposed to too much noise.
If your child has these autism symptoms, ask your child’s doctor to assess your child for ASD so that your child can get help as soon as possible. The earlier a doctor recognizes autism symptoms in your child, the more you can do to improve your child’s life.