Autism is a spectrum of disabilities, meaning the child may manifest or show signs of autism in many different ways across a broad spectrum of behavior. Children with autism experience brain development disorders which are usually indicated by difficulties or differences in intellectual abilities, social interaction, nonverbal and verbal communication, and stimulation (self-stimulating or self-stimulating behavior). Although every autistic child is unique, you need to recognize the signs and symptoms as early as possible to provide early intervention services that can help you and your child live as normal a life as possible.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Recognizing Social Differences
Step 1. Interact with the baby
Babies are generally social creatures and like to make eye contact. While autistic babies look as if they do not interact with their parents, or seem "not paying attention" to their nonautic parents.
- Make eye contact. Babies who are developing normally can return eye contact from six to eight weeks of age. While autistic babies will not look at you, or even avoid your eyes.
- Smile at the baby. Nonautistic babies can smile and show warm, happy expressions from six weeks of age or younger. While autistic babies do not like to smile, even to their parents though.
- Show cute expressions to babies. See if he imitates it. Autistic children are less likely to participate in imitation games.
Step 2. Call the baby's name
Babies are generally able to respond from the age of nine months if their name is called.
Babies with normal development can call "Mom" or "Dad" at 12 months of age
Step 3. Get your toddler to play
At the age of 2-3 years, children in general will be very interested in playing with you and other people.
- Autistic toddlers may appear “out of touch” with the world or lost in their own thoughts. While non-nautical toddlers will involve you in their world by pointing, showing, reaching, or waving from the age of 12 months.
- Children generally engage in parallel play until they are about 3 years old. When a toddler participates in parallel play, this means he or she is playing with other children and enjoying their company, but not necessarily engaging in a form of cooperative play. Don't confuse parallel play with autistic children who are not socially involved.
Step 4. Pay attention to differences of opinion
By about 5 years of age, most children can understand that you may have a different opinion about something. Autistic children tend to have a very difficult time understanding that other people have different perspectives, thoughts, and feelings from their own.
- If your child likes strawberry ice cream, tell him that your favorite ice cream is chocolate ice cream, and see if he argues or gets angry that you don't share his opinion.
- Many autistic people understand this in theory, but not in practice. An autistic girl may understand that you like the color blue, but she doesn't understand why you'd be upset if she wanders off to see a balloon across the street.
Step 5. Pay attention to his moods and outbursts
Autistic children will experience worsening moods or extreme emotional outbursts that often resemble tantrums. However, this he did not do on purpose and in fact irritated him greatly.
- Autistic children have many difficulties, and they try to suppress their emotions to please those who care for them. Emotions sometimes explode out of control, and the child may become so frustrated that he tries to hurt himself, such as banging his head against a wall or biting himself.
- Autistic children are likely to experience more pain due to sensory problems, abuse, and other problems. They may attack more often in self-defense.
Method 2 of 4: Pay Attention to Communication Difficulties
Step 1. Have a chat with your baby and see if he responds to you
Listen to his voices and chatter which increases with age. Children are usually able to communicate fully verbally by the age of 16 to 24 months.
- Babies will generally reply when spoken to by you from the age of 9 months. Autistic babies may not be able to communicate verbally at all, or verbally but then lose that ability.
- Babies in general will start to talk at the age of 12 months.
Step 2. Have a conversation
Talk about his favorite toy and pay attention to his sentence structure and ability to chat. Children in general will have a lot of vocabulary by the age of 16 months, can make two-word phrases that have meaning at the age of 24 months, and are able to make coherent sentences by the age of 5 years.
- Autistic children tend to misplace words in sentence structures, or simply repeat other people's phrases or sentences, which is known as "parroting" or echolalia. They sometimes use pronouns wrong, and say "You want martabak?" when he meant "I want martabak."
- Some autistic children get through the "children's language" phase and have good language skills. They may learn to speak faster and/or develop a large vocabulary. It is possible that they speak in a different way than their peers.
Step 3. Try a number of expressions
Pay attention to whether your child takes the phrases literally. Autistic children tend to misinterpret body language, tone of voice, and expressions.
If you experience an event such as having an autistic child scribble across the living room wall with red marker, and this frustrates you and exclaims sarcastically "That's great!", he or she will likely think literally that you think their "art" is really good.
Step 4. Pay attention to facial expressions, tone of voice, and body language
Autistic children often have unique ways of nonverbal communication. And since most of us are used to seeing nonautistic body language, this way of communicating can sometimes confuse you and others.
- Body language such as robotic, humming, or childish tone of voice that is not natural (until adolescence and even adulthood).
- Body language that doesn't match his mood.
- The variety of facial expressions is very little, there are facial expressions that are very exaggerated, or even strange expressions.
Method 3 of 4: Identifying Repetitive Behavior
Step 1. Notice the child's unusual repetitive behavior
Although to some degree all children like repetitive games, autistic children will show strong repetitive behaviors, such as rocking, flapping their hands, rearranging objects, or repeating sounds (parroting). For them, these ways are important for calming down and relaxation.
- All children had verbal imitation until the age of three years. Autistic children are more likely to do this until the age of 3 years.
- This repetitive behavior is called stimming or self-stimulation, that is, it stimulates the child's senses. For example, children move their fingers in front of their eyes to stimulate vision and make themselves happy.
Step 2. Watch how the child plays
Autistic children will not be interested in imaginative play that seems. They prefer to arrange things (for example, arranging toys or building a city for their dolls, instead of playing house). The imagination is only in their heads.
- Try changing the pattern: rearrange the dolls she's lined up, or walk past her while she's walking in circles. Autistic children will look very upset with this disorder.
- Autistic children may join in imaginative play with other children, especially if the other child is controlling the play. However, autistic children usually will not play it alone.
Step 3. Pay attention to her special interests and favorite things
Strong and unusual obsessions with everyday household objects (such as a broom or rope) or certain facts (as they get older) can be a sign of autism.
- Autistic children usually have a special interest in certain topics and have extraordinary in-depth knowledge about them. Examples include cats, soccer statistics, logic puzzles, and chess. Children will appear excited or open when asked about the subject that he likes.
- Autistic children can have one or more interests at once. These interests can change as the child learns and develops.
Step 4. Watch for increased or decreased sensitivity to certain sensations
If your child shows extreme discomfort with light, texture, sound, taste, or temperature, talk to a doctor.
Autistic children may overreact to new sounds (such as a sudden loud noise or the sound of a vacuum cleaner), textures (such as an itchy sweater or sock), etc. This is because certain flavors are over-processed, resulting in real discomfort or pain
Method 4 of 4: Assessing Autism at All Ages
Step 1. Know when autism can be recognized
Some symptoms can be seen clearly since the age of 2-3 years. Above that age, children can be diagnosed at any age, especially during transitions (such as starting school or moving house), or other stressful periods. The harsh demands of life can make autistic people experience a "regression" to cope with it, making people who care about them seek help to establish a diagnosis.
Some people are only diagnosed after college, when the difference in their development from the average person becomes obvious
Step 2. Identify important milestones in childhood
With some variation, most children have developmental milestones that conform to certain patterns. The developmental milestones of autistic children are usually slower. Some of them are precocious, and their parents consider them gifted children who work very hard or are introverts.
- By age 3, children are usually able to climb stairs, play simple dexterity toys, and pretend play (imaginary games).
- By age 4, most children can retell their favorite stories, write scribbles, and follow simple commands.
- By the age of 5, children are generally able to draw, share their experiences that day, wash their hands, and focus on a task.
- Older autistic children and adolescents will show strict adherence to patterns and rituals, become deeply involved in certain interests, enjoy things that children their age do not normally like, avoid eye contact, and are very sensitive to touch.
Step 3. Observe the abilities of the missing child
Talk to your doctor if you are concerned about your child's development at any point. Don't put off going to the doctor if your child has lost the ability to speak, take care of themselves, or lose social skills at any age.
Most of those lost abilities are still there and can be restored
Tips
- While you shouldn't self-diagnose your child, try testing online.
- Autism is believed to be more common in boys than girls. Experts recognize that autism in girls may miss the diagnostic criteria, especially because girls tend to be more "quiet."
- In the past, Asperger's syndrome belonged to a different classification, but is now included in the category of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
- Many autistic children have associated medical conditions, such as anxiety, depression, indigestion, seizure disorders, sensory processing disorders, and pica, which is a tendency to eat things that are not food (out of the normal developmental habits of toddlers who naturally like to put anything into their mouths). in his mouth).
- Immunization will not cause autism.
