April is Autism Awareness Month
In honor of the special kiddos I work with, I am posting early warning signs. Early intervention is the key!
Please talk with your pediatrician if you have concerns.
Warning Signs listed on the Autism Speaks website:
- No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
- No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
- No babbling by 12 months
- No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
- No words by 16 months
- No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
- Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
Typical Developmental Milestones as listed on the Autism Speaks Website
- Watches faces with interest and follows moving objects
- Recognizes familiar objects and people; smiles at the sound of your voice
- Begins to develop a social smile-
- Turns head toward sounds
- Responds to other people's emotions
- Enjoys face-to-face play; can find partially hidden objects
- Explores with hands and mouth; struggles for out of reach objects
- Responds to own name
- Uses voice to express joy and displeasure; babbles chains of sounds
- Enjoys imitating people; tries to imitate sounds
- Enjoys simple social games, such as “gonna get you!”
- Explores objects; finds hidden objects
- Responds to “no;” uses simple gestures, such as pointing to an object
- Babbles with changes in tone; may use single words (“dada,”“mama,” “Uh-oh!”)
- Turns to person speaking when his/her name is called.
- Imitates behavior of others; is excited about company of other children
- Understands several words
- Finds deeply hidden objects; points to named pictures and objects
- Begins to sort by shapes and colors; begins simple make-believe play
- Recognizes names of familiar people and objects; follows simple instructions
- Combines two words to communicate with others, such as “more cookie?”
- Expresses affection openly and has a wide range of emotions
- Makes mechanical toys work; plays make-believe
- Sorts objects by shape and color, matches objects to pictures
- Follows a 2- or 3-part command; uses simple phrases to communicate with others, such as “go outside, swing?”
- Uses pronouns (I, you, me) and some plurals (cars, dogs)
- Cooperates with other children; is increasingly inventive in fantasy play
- Names some colors; understands concepts of counting and time
- Speaks in sentences of five to six words
- Tells stories; speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand
- Follows three-part commands; understands "same" and "different"
- Wants to be like his/her friends; likes to sing, dance, and act
- Is able to distinguish fantasy from reality
- Shows increased independence
- Can count 10 or more objects and correctly name at least four colors
- Speaks in sentences of more than five words; tells longer stories
Again, please don’t hesitate to contact your doctor if you have concerns.
"If I could snap my fingers and be nonautistic, I would not - because then I wouldn't be me. Autism is part of who I am." --Temple Grandin
