Most children with autism show the existence of violations of social skills as early as during the first year of life. Approximately 20% have a relatively normal development of social skills at the age of 18-24 months.
Moms of children with autism usually tell in the next moment, when diagnosed with autism (usually only after 2 years):
«It was something different from the first months of life,» «There was something strange about him, in his view, his behavior when I tried to feed him,» «Not that he avoided or escaped from my attempts to contact him, but even then he did not answer or did not take when I tried to keep him in my arms, «» When I looked at him, he turned away or did not answer and did not smile, or thought that he looks right through me, or could stare at a particular point on the ceiling above me «;
It’s very hard to differ autism from, for example Asperger’s syndrome symptoms, or other mental disorders.
«He seemed so happy when I was on my own, but if others start to apply to him, he began to worry, even cry,» «I was disappointed because she could not get his answering smile,» «He will never become interested when I tried to draw his attention to objects or actions that are constantly taking place in the house or on the street, «» When I or anyone else wanted to play with him, he could just stare in the direction of this man, or looked in another direction, or seemed completely wild «;
«Sometimes when I watched him, but he did not notice, you could see his strange behavior: rocking or movement from side to side in his hand before his eyes, then he could instantly stop, noticing that I was watching him,» «I did not notice anything strange in it, except that he was so gentle, good, that we could not believe his luck, seeing a face than other parents. He never demanded nothing, «» From the first days of life he could all the time to weep, it seemed that he did not need sleep, «» He hated when someone tried to feed him, especially with fish oil or krill oil, and we even had to hang on the rope to bottle feed him as he lay on his back so that He had no contact with the body of another person. «
By the end of the first year of life characteristic of a child who has autism is detected later become his interest in the game of hide and seek («Cuckoo»), the removal (or lack of response) when trying to attract the attention of the child objects to the environment (kitchen lamp, the passing bird, which appears the car, etc.) and lack of demonstrative gestures with an elongated toe. Very often, when a child wants something, he goes to the person who knows, takes his hand and puts the desired object, not looking into his eyes.
The mother of the child with autism in the hospital was often asked: «Is the child okay?» The answer depends on the awareness of early child development, and knowledge of the existence of autism. Thus, the mother may ask: «Does he have autism?» Mom asked about the development of their children, especially those who are interested in social aspects of development should not take this lightly.
Not all moms, asking about these things, have children with disabilities. To answer the questions moms need a detailed examination of the child systematically repeated. Without a thorough analysis of the results of denying the existence of the child’s problem, which, he feels the mother, there may aggravate her plight and lead to a distrust of «experts» from both parents.