Autism is a condition that mainly affects social interaction and communication. As parents, it is important to be aware of the signs of autism in children, which usually start to appear around the age of two. There are specific signs of autism to be aware of depending on the age of the child.

Signs of Autism in Children of Pre-School Age:

1. Spoken language

  • Slow speech development, such as not speaking at all, or having a very small vocabulary by age 2
  • Frequent repetition of phrases or set words
  • Flat or monotonous speech
  • Using single words to communicate, instead of sentences

2. Responses to other people

  • Not responding if called, after confirming there is no hearing problem
  • Rejecting cuddles from carers or parents, although cuddles are often initiated
  • Unusual negative reactions when other people ask them to do something

3. Interactions with other people

  • Not understanding personal space, or being highly intolerant of others coming into their personal space
  • Little interest in other people, regardless of age
  • Not enjoying activities that children of the same age enjoy, including parties
  • Wanting to play alone
  • Not communicating with facial expressions and gestures
  • Not making eye contact

4. Behavior

  • Repetitive movements
  • Repetitive and unimaginative play, including lining up blocks in set orders rather than to construct
  • Being focused on routines and becoming upset when routine changes
  • Loving or hating certain foods based not just on taste, but also on color, shape, or texture.
  • Having strange sensory interest, including sniffing people, objects, or toys

Signs of Autism in Children who go to school:

1. Spoken language

  • Preferring not to speak
  • Flat or monotonous speech
  • Speaking in memorized sentences, rather than forming new ones
  • Talking "at" people, and not having two-way conversations

2. Responses to other people

  • Not understanding figures of speech, metaphors, or sarcasm
  • Unusually negative reactions when asked to perform tasks

3. Interactions with other people

  • Lack of understanding of personal space, and/or being intolerant of others coming into theirs
  • Having no interest in spending time with others, having few friends, failure in attempts to make friends
  • Not understanding normal social interaction, such as saying hello and goodbye
  • Not being able to change content and tone of speech in social situations, such as speaking familiarly to strangers and formally to family members
  • Rare use of facial expressions or gestures
  • Little to no eye contact

4. Behavior

  • Making repetitive movements
  • Playing unimaginatively and repetitively, preferring objects to people
  • Being very specifically interested in one activity or subject
  • Needing familiar routines and becoming upset if there is a change in them
  • Loving or hating specific foods based not just on flavor, but also on color, texture, or shape
  • Abnormal sensory interests, including sniffing people, objects, or toys

In most cases, autism is suspected by the time a child is between two and five years old. Sometimes, parents pick up on it themselves but more often, it only becomes noticeable once the child goes to school and becomes exposed to social interactions with peers. Early diagnosis is important to ensure parents can adapt their parenting style to better suit the autistic child.