| Infant signs of autism can include a variety of | | | | have autism over girls. This is a staggering |
| behaviors that can tip off parents of potential | | | | number of children that are affected by this |
| development issues. Autism is a | | | | disorder. Every parent should know, at minimum, |
| neurodevelopmental disorder where the infant, | | | | the basic checklist of infant signs of autism to |
| child, or adult has difficulty with social interaction, | | | | watch for as early detection of autism is critical. |
| behaviors different from others of the same age | | | | The earlier the detection the earlier the diagnosis |
| group, and have challenges with communication | | | | and the sooner treatment can be administered. |
| skills. Some specifics include: | | | | Treatments, not cures, are more effective the |
| - Prefer to play alone | | | | sooner they are administered, so every parent |
| - Unwilling to share or take turns with others | | | | should know the symptoms. |
| - Develop language skills more slowly than peers | | | | The exact cause of autism isn't known, but the |
| - Lack of verbal communication | | | | disorder appears to have a strong genetic |
| - Repetition of words or phrases | | | | component. Researchers report if autism is |
| - Difficulty understanding the body language | | | | present in one identical twin, there is a 75 percent |
| - Inability or desire to listen to people | | | | chance the second twin will also be affected. |
| - Become upset and angry with change in | | | | Parents who have one child with autism have a 2 |
| schedule or routine | | | | to 8 percent chance of having another child with |
| - Unusual organization skills | | | | the disorder. |
| The above checklist is far from complete, but it | | | | Infant brain imaging has shown that some children |
| will give you somewhere to start your | | | | with autism have bigger brains than children of the |
| investigation of this neurodevelopmental disorder | | | | same age. This has been show to start in infants |
| in your child. The Centers for Disease Control and | | | | at the 12 month age. This is great news as the |
| Prevention claim that 1 in 150 infants are born | | | | sooner a diagnosis of autism is reached the more |
| with autism. And if you have a boy you should | | | | effective the treatments will be at reducing the |
| know that your boy is four times more likely to | | | | symptoms. |