Behavior of Infants and Children with Autism

Infants with Autism Normal Infants
Communication
  • Avoid eye contact
  • Seem deaf
  • Start developing language, then abruptly stop talking altogether
  • Study mother's face
  • Easily stimulated by sounds
  • Keep adding to vocabulary and expanding grammatical usage
Social relationships
  • Act as if unaware of the coming and going of others
  • Physically attack and injure others without provocation
  • Inaccessible, as if in a shell
  • Cry when mother leaves the room and are anxious with strangers
  • Get upset when hungry or frustrated
  • Recognize familiar faces and smile
Exploration of environment
  • Remain fixated on a single item or activity
  • Practice strange actions like rocking or hand-flapping
  • Sniff or lick toys
  • Show no sensitivity to burns or bruises, and engage in self-mutilation, such as eye gouging
  • Move from one engrossing object or activity to another
  • Use body purposefully to reach or acquire objects
  • Explore and play with toys
  • Seek pleasure and avoid pain

 

Additional Red Flags that Parents Should Note:

Your Child May Have Autism if He/She:

* does not respond to his/her name.
* cannot explain what he/she wants.
* language skills are slow to develop or speech is delayed.
* doesn’t follow directions.
* at times, seems to be deaf.
* doesn’t point or wave "bye-bye."
* used to say a few words or babble, but now doesn't.
* throws intense or violent tantrums.
* has odd movement patterns.
* is overly active, uncooperative, or resistant.
* doesn't know how to play with toys.
* doesn't smile when smiled at.
* has poor eye contact.
* gets "stuck" doing the same things over and over and can't move on to other things.
* seems to prefer to play alone.
* gets things for him/herself only.
* is very independent for his/her age.
* does things "early" compared to other children.
* seems to be in his/her "own world."
* seems to tune people out.
* is not interested in other children.
* walks on his/her toes.
* shows unusual attachments to toys, objects, or schedules
   (i.e., always holding a string or having to put socks on before pants).
* spends a lot of time lining things up or putting things in a certain order.

Source: Filipek et al. (1999). Screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 29(6): 439-484.



IMPORTANT NOTE: These lists are not intended to be used to assess whether a particular child has autism. Diagnosis should only be done by a specialist using highly detailed background information and behavioral observations.