Sign and Symptoms of Autism

The following areas are among those that may be affected by autism.  Any one of these delays by itself will not result in a diagnosis of autism.  Autism is a combination of several developmental challenges.  Each of these symptoms can run from mild to severe - it is a "spectrum disorder" in that it affects individuals differently.  Individuals with ASD demonstrate deficits in:

• Communication problems (e.g., using and understanding language);
• Difficulty relating to people, objects, and events – spends time alone rather than with others, does not imitate others’ actions, does not initiate pretend play.  Children with autism may fail to respond to their name and often avoid eye contact with other people. 
• Unusual play with toys and other objects;
• Difficulty with changes in routine or familiar surroundings
• Repetitive body movements or behavior patterns. Repetitive behaviors or interests-(This is also known as perseveration) – Individuals on the spectrum often have an obsessive interest in a single item, idea, activity or person.  The object may change over the years.  It may be Thomas the Tank Engine for awhile, then move to animals, then move to dinosaurs. Repetitive behavior includes hand flapping, jumping, pacing, running around in circles, rocking from one foot to the other, body swaying, banging the head, rubbing and drumming the fingers, twirling a lock of hair or a string, looking out of the corner of the eyes, screwing up the face, tightening the whole body, and many others.

Children with ASD do not follow the typical patterns of child development. In most cases, the problems in communication and social skills become more noticeable as the child lags further behind other children the same age. Other children, however, develop normally until somewhere between 12 and 36 months old, when their parents note  differences in the way they react to people or other unusual behaviors. Some parents report the change as being sudden, and that their children start to reject people, act strangely, and lose language and social skills they had previously acquired. In other cases, there is a plateau, or leveling, of progress so that the difference between the child with autism and other children the same age becomes more noticeable.

For a video demonstrating early signs of autism, see First Signs.

Click here to view the MCHAT Checklist for autism available in many languages.

Sign and Symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV) the criteria for Asperger’s syndrome specifies that the individual must have "severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, and the development of restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities," that must "cause clinically significant impairment in social occupational or other important areas of functioning."  This is the same as the autism diagnosis, except that children with AS must have had normal language development and normal intelligence.

Asperger's Disorder is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) by six main criteria:

1. qualitative impairment in social interaction
2. restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviors and interests
3. significant impairment in important areas of functioning
4. no significant delay in language development
5. no significant delay in cognitive development, self-help skills or adaptive behaviors (other than social interaction)
6. criteria are not met for another specific pervasive developmental disorder or schizophrenia.

The World Health Organization ICD-10 criteria are almost identical to DSM-IV except that ICD-10 adds the statement that motor clumsiness is usual (although not necessarily a diagnostic feature);

For children with Asperger’s, instead of being language delayed, parents may notice that their children may have an unusual tone or pitch, making their speech sometimes odd or difficult to understand. They may have difficulty expressing their own feelings and perceiving others' feelings. Children with Asperger's typically have trouble with turn taking and may have strong areas of interest.  For example, they may want to talk about bugs or dinosaurs for hours, but be unaware that no one else is interested.