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How can I tell if my child is autistic?
As a parent, you will be very attuned to your child’s development. But that does not always mean that signs of delay or developmental differences will be obvious to you. It is important to recognise that your child might not always show what is thought of as ‘classic’ signs that they are autistic. For example, sometimes parents might think “my child couldn’t be autistic” because their child is very sociable or makes eye contact. Autistic children learn to ‘mask’ , which means they are able to ‘perform’ behaviour that is deemed to be the social norm. It is important to take note of any slight changes or differences in your child, for example, your child may be conversational but may be delayed in their response or might repeat phrases from their favourite tv shows, movies or songs. If your child has sensory challenges it might be observable in their emotions or anxiety levels in a busy place such as a shopping centre or how they feel about labels of their clothes or wearing certain fabrics for example. If your child has trouble getting to sleep and sleeping through the night, this may be a sign that they might be struggling and need help. There is nothing ‘wrong’ with any aspect of your child’s behaviour, even if they are engaging in behaviours that would not be thought of as ‘typical’ behaviours such as flapping or rocking. Your child’s behaviour serves a function for them and allows them to regulate their environment.
It is also important to remember that autism is genetic, which means that there are a great many undiagnosed autistic parents of autistic children. Sometimes these parents don’t see signs of their child’s autism because it is how they themselves interact, communicate and understand the world.
If you see signs that your child might be autistic, or you are concerned about your child’s development, it is a good idea to talk to somebody. Talking to your GP sooner rather than later will help you on the path to understanding and supporting your child best.
What are common signs?
It is important to always remember that individually, autistic people are very different to each other. This is because autistic people (like all people!) have their own individual personalities, histories, families, experiences, likes and dislikes. They are just as different to each other as neurotypical people are to each other. However, there are some common traits that autistic people often share, such as sensory differences, communication preference differences, a preference for honesty and enjoying passionate interests.
Social interaction
What might be common characteristics of Autism regarding social interaction?
- Avoiding eye contact
- Differences reading or displaying emotion
- Preference for own company/spending majority of time alone
- Challenges with the ability to read social cues, find difficult to initiate, maintain or conclude conversation
- Difficulty with turn-taking in conversation – tendency to speak only about own interests, not answer questions or interrupt
- Difficulty with interacting with people on a group basis. Discomfort in social gatherings such as parties
- Tendency to socialise through interests i.e. membership of a club
- Need for consistency in social situations i.e. games must always be played by the same rules, inability to cope with unexpected events in a social situation (person arriving who was not expected), learning some lines of conversation which can be inserted into specific social situation.
Communication
Common Characteristics of Autism: How to autistic people communicate with others
- Either pre-verbal, limited verbal or highly verbal
- Problems with word finding
- Unusual use of words/different understanding of vocabulary
- Tendency to take phrases/idioms literally
- Tendency to speak in monotone tone of voice or an unusual accent/voice experimentation
- May not use or understand facial expressions
- May not use or conform to basic sense of humour
- Find it difficult to articulate frustrations/causes of upset
Behaviour
Common Characteristics of Autism: How do autistic people behave?
- Requires routine and certainty in day-to-day life – can become distressed at breakdown in routine
- May have “meltdowns” if routine is disrupted, surroundings are difficult or if they are struggling to communicate their frustrations
- Unconventional play – collecting objects, sorting, colour coding or lining up are classic examples. (Need for predictability)
- Determination to win or come 1st in games. Habit of interrupting others’ turns.
- May have a special interest or obsessive topic to which they wish to study, talk about, play with all the time
- Daydreaming or floating/walking around without purpose
- May be very hyperactive
- Tendency to run, jump, move erratically or flap hands (linked to sensory processing)
Sensory Processing
Common Characteristics of Autism: How does autism effect taste, touch, smell, sound and sight?
- Struggle with/cannot bear certain sounds, smells or textures.
- Equally may be attracted to others and may have favourite texture, sound, smell.
- May eat only very specific food
- Find open spaces hard to process. Manage better in enclosed surroundings
- May use voice experimentation
- High pain threshold
Strengths
Common Characteristics of Autism: What are autistic people’s strengths? While this list is by no means universal and will vary depending on the person, autistic people often display the following characteristics.
- Intense and highly focused interests which can be channelled into lifelong passions such as music, drawing or environmentalism
- Detail oriented
- Intense focus when engaged in a task
- Strong memory
- Honesty
- Loyalty
These things can vary depending on the day, situation or even year depending on what else is going on in someone’s life. So again, some autistic people may be amazing public speakers, but after a big lecture need a few days not speaking to anyone in order to “recharge.” Other autistic people might really enjoy going to rock concerts on one day, but on another find the ticking of a clock unbearable.
