Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurological developmental disorder that impacts an individual’s ability to communicate and interact socially. There are many early signs of ASDs, and many parents can benefit from recognizing them early on. As a result, there are now more options available for people to become educated and prepared when they have a child who has been diagnosed with an ASD.
Symptoms of ASD:
The majority of symptoms will appear between 12 months and 3 years. The signs can vary from child to child; however, here’s an overview of some of the most common early warning signs of ASD:
1. Reduced Eye Contact: Children may not make eye contact with parents or caregivers and tend to look away from parents or caregivers while engaged in activities they enjoy most.
2. Delayed Language Development or Lack of Speech or Language Skills: Children may not babble when they reach their first birthday, and most will only say one or two words at 18 months or 24 months. Children may also lose previously learned words.
3. No Response to Their Name and/or Lack of Interest in Others to Play With: A child may respond by looking towards their name, but may be uninterested in playing with other children or may not use simple gestures such as clapping, hugging, or waving.
4. Repetitive Movements: Examples of repetitive movements include hand-flapping, rocking, spinning objects, and becoming fixated on certain objects or toys. A child may become obsessed with a certain item or toy.
5. Poor Reactions to Sensory Input: Children may cry, scream, shout, and have various emotional responses to sounds, textures, smells, or light.
6. Challenges in Emotion Understanding
Children who have Autism Spectrum Disorder are most likely to experience difficulty in both understanding other people’s facial expressions as well as expressing a number of emotions.
The presence of these early warning signs does not mean that a child has been diagnosed with autism, but it indicates that the child would benefit from an evaluation performed by a qualified health care provider.
Reasons Why Early Intervention is Vital
The first several years of life are typically when a child’s brain is undergoing its most rapid period of growth, hence the reason why early intervention is considered one of the most effective strategies utilized in improving outcomes for children with ASD.
1. Improved Ability to Communicate
Early intervention therapies serve to teach children ways to express their own needs and feelings using speech, gesture, or some other type of alternative communication method.
2. Enhanced Social Skills
Children who have received early intervention learn how to better interact and engage with other children, understand social cues, and develop meaningful relationships with their peers.
3. A Diminished Number of Challenging Behaviors
By assisting parents in identifying repetitive behaviors, frustrating situations, and self-harming behaviors through structured behavioral strategies, early intervention therapy can reduce these disruptive behaviors and support children in learning to regulate their emotions more effectively.
4. Additional Learning Opportunities
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder receive assistance with developing their ability to attend, engage, and develop cognitive abilities that are necessary in order to achieve school readiness.
5. Increased Opportunities to Be Independent
Through trained and supervised practice, children learn how to perform basic self-help activities such as eating, dressing, and self-care, ultimately leading to greater independence throughout the child’s life.
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