Click here for info on ASD- Autism Spectrum Disorders
Symptoms of Autism in a Nonverbal Child:
- Reduced eye contact – Avoids any type of eye-to-eye contact, however they have the tendency of staring at one object for a long time. They may stare in one direction and tend to look “zoned out”.
- Uninterested in things – No interest at all in objects, and little or no pointing towards objects
- Poor response – Child may give the impression that they are deaf because they tend to ignore verbal language
- Limited Interaction – Poor overall development of social skills with little or no interaction with peers. If they do engage, it is limited and not sustained.
- Lack of affect – The child may seem like he is unhappy, or simply never smile
- Impulsive and unpredictable behavior, particularly outside the home
- Poor turn taking skills in joint activities
Symptoms of Autism with a verbal Child:
- Delayed speech and language for the child’s age
- Repetitive Speech, or echolalia
- Random or perseverative use of ideas
- Lack of symbolic or imaginative play
- Poor eye contact and awareness to others
- Limited engagement with others with little use of verbal or nonverbal turn taking
- Uses language to meet needs rather than to share information or socialize
- Can understand language, but has difficulty following multistep commands
- Thrives on routines with poor transitioning from one activity to another
- Has limited interest in the world- self absorbed
- Does not bond with peers
- General behavior pattern: self-stim behaviors, sensory integration problems, difficult to manage, inflexible
Symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome:
- Normal or advanced language development
- Typically has an above average vocabulary
- Tends to recite memorized scripts with irrelevant contextual meaning
- Poor eye contact and limited facial expression may also have a monotone or atypical speech rhythm
- Has trouble reading nonverbal social cues
- Difficulty forming social bonds with peers
- Does better with familiar adults
- Unlike a severely autistic child who does not have the desire to socialize, a child with Apserger’s wants to socialize and conform with peers, but does not know how to relate to others
- Inappropriate emotional responses in social contexts (does not laugh at a joke, or laughs at the wrong time)
- Difficulty processing more complex language. Learns best visually
- Reduced imaginative play
- Narrow repertoire of interests, though usually very talented in some specific areas
- Difficulty with conversational initiation, turn taking, and topic maintenance
- General Behavior pattern: rigid, loves routine, and often has sensory processing problems
These and many other symptoms can be assessed and possibly even helped through our services.