➢ Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social, linguistic, motor and behavioral challenges. The disorder can vary in severity, ranging from mild to severe.

➢ The disorder can be identified in children before 30 months of age and certain deficits such as difficulties in social interaction can be identified as early as in initial 6 months of an infant’s life (for example: not smiling back, not reaching out to you, not seeking out love and warmth). Early identification helps in providing children suitable assistance services which facilitate their growth, ameliorate difficulties and prevent future developmental issues.

➢ Absence of speech and speech deficits, many times, are one of the commonly identified difficulties by parents and caregivers. However, absence of speech can be solely mistaken for speech delay in the child which can further prevent the child from receiving early intervention. Hence, parents must carefully observe their child, be aware and observe whether the child faces difficulties in other areas.

➢ Following are some of the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder observed in children. If your child exhibits any of the following symptoms, kindly refer to a trained clinical psychologist.

1. The child avoids looking people in the eye (Observe whether the child maintains an eye contact with you while you talk to the child)

2. The child does not smile back at a smiling face (Observe how the child responds when somebody smiles at the child).

3. The child is withdrawn, unresponsive, responds after a delay (Initiate a conversation with the child, for example, ask the child “how was your day?”, observe how the child responds).

4. The child doesn’t seek out others, doesn’t respond to name

5. The child has difficulties with social interaction, doesn’t participate in group activities/play (Observe whether the child indulges in a simple game of ball toss with others, whether waits for turn)

6. The child has inappropriate emotional reactions (observe whether child laughs at inappropriate times, gets excited and distressed without any reason)

7. The child talks to oneself

8. The child’s speech does not develop normally (The child might have acquired speech and then lost it)

9. The child repeats what you are saying (example, when you say “do this”, the child repeats “do this” without following the command)

10. The child repeats certain words, phrases throughout the day which are out of context and/or utters meaningless sounds

11. The child indulges in repetitive body movements (example, the child keeps flapping hands, repetitively makes specific hand gestures)

12. The child is overly attached to a specific object/toy (example: the child keeps a specific toy to oneself, cries when the toy is taken away, returns to the same toy at the end of the day)

13. The child is restless, seems full of energy and is difficult to control

14. The child shows aggressive behavior, for example, the child kicks, screams when frustrated

15. The child indulges in self-harming behavior, for example, the child hits oneself/bites oneself/ bangs head.

16. The child follows same routine, example, the child prefers to sit at the same spot, listen to same stories, play with same toys in a similar manner

17. The child’s behavior reflects sensory issues (example, the child covers ears when exposed to certain sounds, identifies things by smelling/touching)

18. The child does not track objects (take the child’s toy away and observe whether the child tries to track the toy) 19. The child has an unusual vision (for example, the child looks at objects from the corner of eye)