Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms and characteristics of autism can occur in a variety of combinations, from mild to severe. While autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors with varying degrees of severity. A child with classic autism may not speak at all, while a child with PDD-NOS or Asperger’s may have a lot of language, but still have difficulty with communication.

Lack of Communication Skills

• Lack of or delay in developing language

• Loss of previously developed language

• Repeats words in place of language (called echolalia)

• Leads people by the hand in place of asking verbally

Difficulty Relating to Others

• Lack of eye contact

• Lack of interest in other children and what other children are doing

• Lack of response to verbal requests

• No response when name is called

• Little or no spontaneous or make believe play

• Avoidance of physical contact

• Indifference to others distress or pain

Unusual Behaviors

• Self-stimulation, spinning, rocking, hand flapping, etc.

• Inappropriate laughter or tantrums for no apparent reason

• Inappropriate attachment to objects

• Can exhibit obsessive compulsive behaviors

• Repetitive play for extended periods of time

• Insistence on routine and sameness

• Difficulty dealing with interruption of routine schedule and change

• Possible self injury behavior

Differences in Infant Behavior 

Communication

• Infants without autism may study mother’s face; infants with autism may avoid eye contact

• Infants without autism are easily stimulated by sounds; infants with autism may seem deaf

• Infants without autism keep adding to vocabulary and expanding grammatical usage; infants with autism may start developing language, then abruptly stop talking altogether

• Infants without autism wave hi & bye; infants with autism may not wave

Social Relationships

• Infants without autism cry when mother leaves the room and are anxious with strangers; infants with autism may act as if they are unaware of the coming and going of others

• Infants without autism get upset or angry when frustrated; infants with autism may physically attack and injure others without provocation

• Infants without autism recognize familiar faces and smile; infants with autism may be inaccessible, as if in a shell

• Infants without autism try to gain joint attention of parent or caregiver to “show” them things; infants with autism may not try to "show" parent or caregiver things

Interaction with Environment

• Infants without autism move from one engrossing object or activity to another; infants with autism may remain fixated on a single item or activity

• Infants without autism use purposeful actions to reach or acquire objects; infants with autism may practice repetitive actions like rocking or hand-flapping

• Infants without autism explore and play with toys; infants with autism may sniff or lick toys

• IInfants without autism seek pleasure and avoid pain, react when harmed; infants with autism may show little or no sensitivity to pain, and engage in self-mutiliation or seem to overreact to touch

• Infants without autism point at objects and sounds; infants with autism may not point at objects or sounds

Infants with autism will not always exhibit every symptom of autism – usually there will be a marked absence of the typical milestones with some combination of the autistic traits.