Signs and Symptoms of Autism Autism Spectrum Disorder includes difficulty with social interaction, communication, repetitive behaviors, and sensory overload. Social interaction is a struggle for children with autism. By the age of 2-3 months typically developing infants turn to voices, gaze at faces, and learn to smile, however, most children who develop autism have difficulty engaging in everyday interactions. By 8 to 10 months children with autism show signs of delayed babbling, reduced interest in people and rarely respond to their name. By toddlerhood, children prefer to be alone and are uninterested in playing social games with their peers. Also, children miss out on social cues because depending on the persons facial and body expressions, a single phrase can mean …show more content…
Typically developing children say their first word or two by the age of one. They learn to point to objects they show interest in, and turn their head when they hear their name. Many children learn to say the word “no” when they don’t want something. However, many children with autism tend to be delayed when it comes to babbling, gestures, and their first words. These children tend to develop speech in unusual ways when they do begin to learn language and start communicating with others. For example, some may only speak using single words, repeat the same phrase repeatedly, or engage in echolalia, where they repeat what they hear verbatim. Some children enjoy talking about a specific topic and don’t get the social cues to change the topic or allow others to comment on the topic they are discussing. Also, children with autism lack the ability to match their nonverbal language, such as facial expressions, movements, and gestures with what they are trying to convey. For example, if they are telling someone a sad story they may have a smile on their face which confuses the person on the receiving end of the conversation. (“Symptoms,”