Autism is a mental disorder that begins in early childhood and continues throughout the entire lifetime of an individual. Signs and symptoms of mild autism are usually associated with Asperger’s Syndrome, one of the forms of autism. It is characterized by pronounced impairment in social interaction, communication and behavior.
A child will not exhibit signs of mild autism until the age of 3, and it is only after that age wherein parents will start to notice the symptoms. In most cases, the IQ level of these children are either average level, sometimes even above average.
Children with symptoms of mild autism will have difficulty in communicating with others, like problems in speaking and conversing with other kids. If parents will notice any unusual behaviors manifested by their child, it is important that they will bring the child to a medical specialist, in order to be evaluated and properly diagnosed. The earlier the child is diagnosed with autism, the greater chances that he/she will have a better life, as well as the parents.
For the parents to correctly identify the signs of mild Autism here are several of them.
An autistic child will normally find it hard to start a conversation with other children. If spoken, the child will not look or may seem like he is not paying attention at all, even if his name is called. Most autistic children are detached, to simply put, they have their ‘own world’.
Next, children with mild autism lack eye to eye contact. In rare times that they actually make eye contact, they cannot sustain it for a long time.
Another symptom of autistic children is that they infatuated with certain objects, particularly the ones that spin, have shiny colors, or move quickly. In addition, they also frequently rock their body back and forth, especially when agitated or upset. For instance, when their routines are changed or interrupted.
Moreover, some children with autism have a habit of repeating lines from movies, books, or from previous conversation. They also have delayed development of both verbal and non-verbal communication.
Besides that, kids with mild autism also have poor motor skills, both fine and gross motor, like poor handwriting, clumsiness, and uncoordinated movements. Hand flapping and repetitive behaviors are manifested too.
It is also worth nothing that an autistic child is sensitive to loud noise and bright lights stimulation. Furthermore, he/she may also have problems comprehending another individual’s emotions.
PLEASE NOTE that the accuracy of this article has been questioned by one of our readers. (Thanks Sarah!) We are checking with the author and will update the article as needed. As always, you should not use this site as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Only a qualified medical professional with knowledge of you unique situation can accurately assess your specific needs.
Sarah, thanks for your comments. This was a guest post that is a little outside our normal expertise. We are reviewing the article and will make changes if needed.
I’m not sure if this was just terribly written or you haven’t researched the topic. My son showed signs of Autism when he was a baby, way before the age of 3 and does not display all the symptoms that you have written above. Autism is not as black and white as this article makes out and has so many different levels and variables that it’s actually quite dangerous to make such sweeping generalised statements, because of the chance of misdiagnosis.