Age by Age Red Flags for Autism
Early signs of autism in babies and toddlers
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Doesn’t make eye contact (e.g. look at you when being fed).
Doesn't smile when smiled at.
Doesn't respond to his or her name or to the sound of a familiar voice.
Doesn’t follow objects visually.
Doesn't point or wave goodbye or use other gestures to communicate.
Doesn’t follow the gesture when you point things out.
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Doesn’t make noises to get your attention.
Doesn’t initiate or respond to cuddling.
Doesn’t imitate your movements and facial expressions.
Doesn’t reach out to be picked up.
Doesn’t play with other people or share interest and enjoyment.
Doesn’t ask for help or make other basic requests.
Source: Autism Symptoms and Early Signs
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN BABIES, TODDLERS, AND CHILDREN
By: Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Ted Hutman, Ph.D.
Taken Directly from HELPGUIDE.ORG
At any age: any loss of speech or babbling or social skills
4 Months your child should be doing the following for a healthy development
-Following and reacting to bright colors, movement and objects
- Turning toward sound
-Showing an interest in watching people’s faces
-Smiling back when you smile
6 months
-No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions
7months
-Movements seem too rigid or too loose
-Not wanting to show physical affection (not wanting to cuddle is one example)
-No response to emotions, physical contact, or sounds
-Difficulty soothing your baby
- Physical Delays like the inability to roll over, hold up the head. Or sit with help from an
adult
-No participation in simple games
-No babbling
9 Months
-No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions
12 Months
-Lack of response to name
-No babbling or “baby-talk”
-No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving
-Physical delays like not standing up with help, no crawling, or crawling with one side of
the body dragging
-Lack of participation in games like hiding toys
-Cant’s say individual words like “dada,” “mama,” or “cookie”
16 Months
-No spoken words
-Loss of speech
18 Months
-Physical delays like not walking or only walking on tiptoes
24 months
-No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating)
-Lack of showing
-Lack of gestures: pointing, reaching, waving and showing
-Lack of sharing interest or enjoyment with others
-Repetitive movements with objects
-Lack of appropriate eye gaze
-Lack of response to name
-Lack of warm, joyful expressions
-Knows fewer than 15 words
-Inability to follow basic directions
-Not imitating others’ activities or words
-Doesn’t know what to do with a toothbrush, hairbrush, eating utensils, or a toy phone
(can’t play or use them)
36 months (3 years)
-avoiding eye contact with others
-No interest in “make-believe” or pretend play
-Not wanting to play with toys or even other children
-Can’t speak even in short phrases
-Speech that is slurred or difficult to understand, accompanied by frequent drooling
-difficulty copying objects; for instance, being unable to draw a shape like a circle
-Can’t work simple toys or objects
-Severe problems with separation from parent or caregiver
By age 4 or 5
-extremely shy or withdrawn
-very aggressive
-Not wanting to play with others and not having creative play alone
-Not communicating effectively
-Not using appropriate person (saying “I” to refer to him- or herself) or verb tense
Sources: Early Red Flags and Warning Signs of Autism from MedicineNet.com
Also: Age-Related Signs of Autism by Diana Rodriguez; Taken directly from everydayhealth.com
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