Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorders

SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER:

• Impaired social interaction
• Unresponsive to people as an infant
• Focus on one item intently for long periods of time in exclusion of others
• Appear to develop normally but then withdraw becoming socially indifferent
• Fail to respond to their own name
• Avoids eye contact
• Difficulty interpreting what others think or feel because of not being able to understand social cues, tone of voice and facial expressions
• Will not watch other's for cues of the appropriate reaction
• Lack of empathy
• Repetitive movement like rocking back and forth or head banging
• Engage in self injurious behavior such as biting themselves, scratching themselves, hitting themselves
• Start speaking much later then other children and refer to themselves by their own name instead of "I" or "me".
• Will not play with other children or interact with them
  
• Higher risk for co-occurring disorders such as Fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, epileptic seizures,  Tourette's syndrome, a variety of learning disabilities, and ADHD.
• 20 - 30 % of those with Autism will develop seizures by adulthood
• Some people with schizophrenia will exhibit autistic like behaviors but don't appear until late teens or early adulthood.
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Resists change
• Tantrums
• Unconcerned about danger
• No pretense
• Selfish behavior
• Clamping hands over ears, spinning in circles
• Walking on toes
• Odd movement patterns
• High or low senses of taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing
• Rubs, licks, or mouths objects
• Very narrow interests