When trying to figure out the symptoms of autism in young children, it can often be confusing. How much is just normal behavior for a young child, how much is a phase of some sort, and how much is cause for serious concern? One thing you can use to observe and help you decide is the child’s behavior.
Routine
Young children with autism will display many behaviorally related symptoms. You will have a marked need for routine, needing to do everything the same way, every time. For example, if he always travels home from the supermarket the same way, your child may notice if he takes a different route and will get very upset. It is very likely that he wants to eat the same things for breakfast and lunch, and at the same time every day. Bedtime should be constant. This need for routine is a common symptom of autism in toddlers and children.
line up toys
A young child might line up his toys repeatedly. This is a classic autistic symptom exhibited by young children. You won’t play with them in the traditional way – there is a distinct lack of imaginative play.
Typical children may play house or give human qualities to inanimate objects. They could pretend they’re having tea, or at a monster truck rally, or something like that. They could pretend they have superpowers.
However, autistic children will take the same dolls or trucks that their peers played with and line them up. They will be very upset if someone tries to interrupt them. This desire to line up toys is another symptom of autism in young children.
Other symptoms of autism in young children
There are several other symptoms of autism that parents may notice in their young children, such as:
- Autistic children do not like to share things with others.
- A typical child will point to show things of interest to parents, but a young child with autism will not.
- There will be a lot of repetitive behavior and your child may seem interested in unusual things, like the slanting of light through the window or the sound you make. They can spend hours looking at these things.
- Children with autism are not good with new situations. There will be a lot of screaming, yelling, and general meltdowns if they are forced to try something new that they haven’t done before.
- Also, due to sensory issues, nervous breakdowns are common in large crowds of people and in crowded, closed areas with other children, due to noise and commotion levels.
- They are very detail oriented and will notice things that you would never notice about any object or situation.
Toddler Autism Symptoms Often Shown in Preschool
A young child is often considered to be a bit quirky until it’s time for preschool or kindergarten, and then parents are shocked when they see how different their child is from their peers.
Since autism in many cases has a genetic role, parents can often remember having similar but less severe traits and not think so much about some of the milder ones. However, once in school, the gap between the child with autism and their typical peers is large.
Don’t worry; Help is available if you think your child is displaying some of these symptoms of toddler autism.