Autism: Determining the Early Signs of Autism

Autism is one of the most common pervasive developmental disorders. It is said that one in 150 children, mostly male, suffer from this condition. Autism is a condition that causes a wide variety of symptoms, notable of which are social withdrawal and preoccupation with routine. However, autistic children are noticeably bright and had intellectual gifts that normally ruled out mental retardation.

Autism was first discovered by John Hopkins psychiatrist Leo Kanner in 1943, and again in 1944 by Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger. A dearth of research followed soon after; but in 1981, a renewed interest in this disorder led to the discovery that Kanner and Asperger's findings were actually describing two facets of a complicated and variable disorder.

Autistic people suffer from many problems. They suffer from sensory disturbances, food allergies, gastro-intestinal maladies, depression, obsessive-compulsiveness, and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. However, psychologists believe that autistics have a central defect, which is developing a theory of mind. Autistics are said to think that everyone has identical thoughts as they have, making it difficult for them to discern emotions of others, and to communicate.

Autism, though incurable, is not a totally crippling disease. Timely psychological intervention could alleviate some of the symptoms and make an autistic child live a productive life. In fact, many autistic children have above-average intelligence, owing to their fascination with detail. Parents are encouraged to look for signs of autism and immediately consult a psychologist in order to arrange treatment.

These are the signs for autism that could be observed in children. If these signs are present, consult a specialist:

- No pointing by one year
- No babbling by one year, no utterance of single words by 16 months, no two-word phrases by two years
- Loss of language skills
- No pretend playing
- Little or no interest in making friends
- A very short attention span
- No response when called by name; indifference to others
- Little or no eye contact
- Repetitive body movements
- Intense tantrums
- Fixations on an object
- Uncommonly strong resistance to routine changes
- Oversensitivity to certain sounds, smells, or textures