Autism Symptoms Become Apparent Through Play.

Children with autism have a barrier when it comes to social interaction and communication.  This becomes very apparent in a child, when it comes time for them to start interactively playing with other children.

Children with autism may often prefer to play alone.  They may want to be near others, but wish to play alone.  This would be due to their lack of social awareness.  Children with autism have a tendency to focus solely on one object for long periods of time.  It may appear as though they are playing with a toy helicopter, but in reality they are fascinated by the rotors and how they turn.

Due to the fact that sudden changes in routine are very difficult for the children with autism, spontaneous play is out as well.  These breaks from their ritualistic play can cause violent outbursts in some cases.  The lack of empathy can also rule out "role playing" and pretend play.  They miss out on any life lessons others learn from this type of imaginative play.  To most children this brings a sense of fulfillment.  The children with autism will miss out on this experience.

The violent out burst that can happen, hamper children with autism's ability to make friends.  Children will tend to stay away from them, not knowing when one of these melt downs will occur.  Children with ASD may find that they get over stimulated with to many other children around, which may only lead to more outbursts.  Also the preoccupation with objects means they will find it very difficult to share with others.  This will also make it hard to have relationships with their peers.

For more information on autism signs, symptoms, treatments and research check out Autism: Everything Parents and Caregivers Should Know About the Disorder. 

Autism Symptoms, Where to Begin

To begin with I think we will discuss the most prevalent of Autism Symptoms.  Social interaction is one of the hardest things for children with autism.  If your worried that your child may have autism then read on, and I will give you somethings you should be on the lookout for.  We will just talk about the social aspects in this post.

Autism symptoms can first be noticed during infancy or while the child is a toddler. You may notice that the child does things not making active eye contact or maybe even avoiding it all together.  You may notice a completely flat affect as opposed to your child showing emotion.  Maybe their facial expression doesn't match with what they are saying.  You may also notice that they may not respond well to you, even when they are being called by name.  If you notice these things it could be a symptom of autism.

Not using words could be another symptom of autism.  They may just point or gesture towards what they want, instead of using a verbalization of some sort.  You may notice that this becomes their preferred method of communication.

Children with autism have a severe lack of social cues or feelings of others.  Their not always aware of others emotions.  This may come from the inability to empathize with other people.  They may not understand why another person feels Happy, sad, or mad.

Speaking of mad, you may notice extreme uproar if you make any changes in the autistic child's structured life.  Any changes in routine may result in meltdowns of thermonuclear proportions.  This symptom of autism should be very apparent.  Strong aversion to any disruption of a schedule.

The child with autism would have a hard time playing with others or making friends.  Children with autism may appear to do great when all of the children are engaging in parallel play.  When the children get older and actually start playing together, you may notice that they are struggling.  They may often be found still playing on their own.  That doesn't mean the Autistic child wants to be alone necessarily.  They just may not be able to keep up the interaction with the others actively.

You can find more about Autism symptoms, signs, and treatments in Autism: Everything Parents And Caregivers Should Know About The Disorder.