Autism Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, and More Autism belongs to a group of developmental disabilities called autism spectrum disorders. The name "spectrum" stems from the fact that these disorders affect each child differently. These disorders involve delays in the development of many basic skills, including the abilities to socialize or form relationships with others and to communicate effectively. Children with autism may also have intellectual disabilities and behavioral challenges.

What Are the Symptoms of Autism?

Symptoms of autism typically appear before a child reaches age 3 and last throughout life. Children with autism can display a wide range of symptoms, which can vary in severity from mild to disabling. General symptoms that may be present to some degree in a child with autism include:

• Difficulty with verbal communication, including problems using and understanding language
• Inability to participate in a conversation, even when the child has the ability to speak
• Difficulty with non-verbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions
• Difficulty with social interaction, including relating to people and to his or her surroundings
• Difficulty making friends and preferring to play alone
• Unusual ways of playing with toys and other objects, such as only lining them up a certain way
• Difficulty adjusting to changes in routine or familiar surroundings, or an unreasonable insistence on following routines in detail
• Repetitive body movements, or patterns of behavior, such as hand flapping, spinning, and head banging
• Preoccupation with unusual objects or parts of objects

People with a form of autism, called autistic savantism, have exceptional skills in specific areas, such as music, art, and numbers. People with this form of autism are able to perform these skills without lessons or practice.

What Are the Warning Signs That a Child May Have Autism?

Babies develop at their own pace, some more quickly than others. However, you should consider an evaluation for autism if any of the following apply:

• Your child does not babble or coo by 12 months of age (cooing typically starts when a child is 2 months old)
• Your child does not gesture, such as point or wave, by 12 months of age
• Your child does not say single words by 16 months
• Your child does not say two-word phrases on his or her own (rather than just repeating what someone else says) by 24 months
• Your child has lost any language or social skills (at any age)
• Your child does not establish or maintain eye contact
• Your child does not make facial expressions or respond to your facial expressions