When trying to figure out the symptoms of autism in young children, it can often get confusing. How much is normal behavior for a young child, how much is a phase of some kind, and how much is a cause for serious concern? One thing you can use to observe and help you decide is the child’s behavior.
Routine
Young children with autism will display many symptoms related to behavior. They will have a marked need for routine, needing to do everything in the same way, always. For example, if you always travel home from the grocery store in the same way, your child may notice that you are taking a different route and will become very angry. You most likely want the same things for breakfast and meals, and at the same time every day. Bedtime should be kept constant. This need for routine is a common symptom of autism in toddlers and young children.
Line up toys
A young child may line up his toys repeatedly. This is a classic autistic symptom that young children present. You will not play with them in the traditional way, there is a distinct lack of imaginative play.
Typical children can play house or give human qualities to inanimate objects. They can pretend they’re having tea, or at a monster truck rally, or something like that. They can pretend they have super powers.
However, autistic children will take the same dolls or trucks that their peers played with and line them up. They will get very angry if someone tries to interrupt them. This desire to line up toys is another symptom of autism in young children.
Other symptoms of autism in young children
There are several other symptoms of autism that parents may notice in their young children, such as:
- Autistic children do not like to share things with others.
- A typical child will point to show things of interest to parents, but a young child with autism will not.
- There will be a lot of repetitive behaviors, and your child may seem interested in unusual things, like the slanting of light through the window or the sound of something being done. They can spend hours observing these things.
- Children with autism are not good with new situations. There will be a lot of yelling, yelling and general collapsing if they are made to try something new that they haven’t done before.
- Also, due to sensory issues, seizures are common in large crowds of people and in nearby areas crowded with other children, due to noise and levels of shock.
- They are very detail oriented and will notice things that you would never have noticed about any object or situation.
Young Children’s Autism Symptoms Often Show In Preschool
Often times, a toddler is considered a little quirky until it’s time for preschool or kindergarten, and then parents will rudely wake up when they see how different their child is from their peers.
Since autism in many cases has a genetic role, parents can often remember to have similar but less severe traits and not think as much about some of the milder ones. Once in school, however, the gap between the child with autism and his typical peers is great.
Do not worry; help is available if you think your child has some of these symptoms of autism in young children.
