Autism is a complex developmental condition that typically appears during early childhood and is characterised by difficulties in social interaction, communication, restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours, and sensory sensitivities. It is called a ‘developmental’ condition because symptoms of autism generally appear in the first two years of a child’s life. It is called a ‘spectrum’ disorder because it is most influenced by different combinations of genetic and environmental factors and affects people differently and to varying degrees. Each autistic person has a set of strengths and challenges that are distinct from any other autistic person and the way (s)he/she learns, thinks or solves problems can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. ASD may occur in persons across all ethnic, racial, and economic groups.

1. The Early Signs
Of Autism

2. What Is Autism?
Autism is a complex developmental condition that typically appears during early
childhood and is characterised by difficulties in social interaction, communication,
restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours, and sensory sensitivities. It is called a
‘developmental’ condition because symptoms of autism generally appear in the first two
years of a child’s life. It is called a ‘spectrum’ disorder because it is most influenced by
different combinations of genetic and environmental factors and affects people differently
and to varying degrees. Each autistic person has a set of strengths and challenges that are
distinct from any other autistic person and the way (s)he/she learns, thinks or solves
problems can range from highly skilled to severely challenged. ASD may occur in persons
across all ethnic, racial, and economic groups.

3. Research into autism has been unable to confirm a single specific cause for a person to
have autism. They have however narrowed down on a few possible risk factors including
having a sibling with ASD, having certain genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome,
Fragile X Syndrome or Rett Syndrome, babies born to older parents or in babies with very
low birth weight.
ASD is not an illness, and it does not require treatment. A person may find it easier to
manage some characteristics of ASD with support or therapies, though.
Having support from an early age can help improve an autistic child’s development,
language, and interactive skills.

4. Signs of Autism
● Limited Eye Contact
● Lack of Gesturing or Pointing
● Absence of Joint Attention
● No response to hearing their name
● Muted emotion in facial expression
● Lack or loss of Language
● Regression

6. Early Signs of Autism
Early signs of autism can be easily detected in infants as young as 6-18 months, but parents
have to pay attention for that. There are certain milestones for a particular age, like – no joyful
expressions by 6 months, no back and forth sharing of sounds by 9 months, no babbling by 12
months and so on. If the child is not responding properly, than the parents need to check.
Eye contact during early infancy is a key to early identification of autism. Typically developing
children begin to focus on human faces within the first few hours of life and they learn to pick
up social cues by paying special attention to other people’s eyes.
Many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show developmental differences when
they are babies—especially in their social and language skills. Because they usually sit, crawl,
and walk on time, less obvious differences in the development of body gestures, pretend play,
and social language often go unnoticed.

7. Autism Signs By 3 Months
● Don't respond to loud noises.
● Don’t babble.
● Don't grasp and hold objects.
● Don't smile at people.
● Don't pay attention to new faces.
● They don't follow moving objects with their eyes: "Babies at high risk for autism don't
follow caregivers as they move in the visual field," says Dr. Frazier. "They may be more
intrigued by something like a blanket."

8. Autism Signs By 7 Months
● Don't turn their head to locate where sounds are coming from.
● Do not show affection for you.
● Don't smile on their own.
● Don't laugh or make squealing sounds.
● Don't reach for objects.
● They don't try to attract attention through actions.
● They don't have any interest in games.

9. Autism Signs By 12 Months
● Don't say single words.
● Don't use gestures such as waving or shaking their head.
● Don't point to objects or any pictures.
● They can't stand when supported.
● Don’t crawl.
Note: It's important to note that these criteria aren't conclusive evidence of autism. Also different for
each child.

11. Difficulties Experienced By Persons With ASD
Communication and Social Interactions
An autistic individual may have trouble communicating / interacting with others. This need not
necessarily mean that they do not like people. The individual may:
● Make little or inconsistent eye contact with another person
● Tend not to look at people or listen to what they are saying
● Rarely share awareness or enjoyment of objects or activities by pointing or showing
things to others
● Fail to, or being slow to, respond to someone trying to gain his / her attention through
verbal attempts
● Have difficulties with the back and forth of conversation

12. ● Often talk at length about a favorite subject without noticing that others are not
interested or without allowing others to respond
● Have facial expressions, movements, and gestures that do not have any connection to
what is being said at the time
● Have an unusual tone of voice that may sound sing-song or flat and robot-like or
have speech difficulties
● Have trouble understanding another person’s point of view or be unable to predict or
understand other people’s actions

13. Restricted and Repetitive Interests and Behaviours
A person with ASD may have trouble focusing on certain topics but have an increased and
focused interest over a long period of time on certain other topics. He/she may:
● Repeat certain behaviors or have unusual behaviors like repeating words or phrases
over and over again. Have a lasting, intense interest in certain topics, such as
numbers, details, or facts
● Have overly focused interests, such as with moving objects or parts of objects
● Get upset by changes in his / her routine, however slight the changes may be ok.
Sensory Sensitivities
Sensory sensitivities shown by autistic people can involve both hyper-sensitivities
(over-responsiveness) and hypo-sensitivities (under-responsiveness) to a wide range of
stimuli. Sensitivities could be towards Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes, Touch, Balance, and
Body Awareness.

14. Therapy Treatment for Autism
Early diagnosis of autism and appropriate interventional measures can help an autistic person
receive the support and services that they need and enable them to lead a quality life and
have better access to opportunities. Depending on the type and extent of the disorder that has
been diagnosed, the therapist will devise a customised program for the individual with a mix
of therapy interventions.
1. Occupational therapy – Occupational therapists provide interventions for children after
evaluating their motor skills (gross and fine), sensory sensitivities, social skills, play skills,
cognitive-perceptual skills, pre-writing skills, activities of daily living.
2. Speech Therapy – Speech therapists help the child to communicate better by integrating
all aspects of speech and language development which includes receptive and expressive
language, articulation respiration and fluency.

15. 3. Behavioural Therapy – The behavioural therapist will identify objectionable, maladaptive
behaviours exhibited by the child and replace them with socially desirable, healthier and
adaptive type of behaviour.
4. Remedial Education Program – In this program, the professional educator helps the child
develop appropriate activities to meet the demands of individual lessons and help them
progress in school.
5. Social Skills Training – Social skills training (SST) is a type of behavioral therapy used to
help people improve social skills so that they can have better communication and social
interactions with others.
6. Play Therapy – The therapist / parent works with the child on child-led play sessions –
non-directive (unstructured) or directive (guided) – and are based on the individual needs of
the child.

16. 7. Sensory Integration – The therapy was developed to help people with autism to better
handle their reactions to sensory issues and improve their ability to participate in a wide range
of activities.
8. Group Therapy – All the skills they have acquired during their individual sessions are put
into practise in group therapy. It will be a group of children with similar abilities. Children will
do tasks as demanded by the therapist. There will be various sessions for group therapy such
as food time, waiting time, play time, toilet time etc. This therapy will help them to be easily
acclimatized to the mainstream school environment.
9. Physiotherapy – A physical therapist develops activities and exercises that build motor skills
and improve strength, posture, and balance to improve functioning and social skills.

17. The Success Rate of Therapy Treatment in Autism
Success of therapeutic treatment in autism is subjective and will vary from person to person.
However, research has shown that treatment for children who have had an early diagnosis (by
ages 2 or 3) are more likely to be successful than those who receive the treatment later and
has a 99% scope of mainstreaming them.
In the immediate context of a child, therapy is successful if the child is able to fulfill the goals
(within the specified time frame) that have been set by the therapist after thorough diagnosis.
In a much broader outlook, success may be measured in terms of the improvement in the
child’s functioning over a defined period of time in the areas that had been diagnosed to be a
growth or development concern.

18. Post Autism Treatment Care
After the child undergoes therapy and shows improvement in the concern areas, the therapists
would also help them learn basic life skills like personal care and hygiene, cooking, managing
their finances / money, shopping, room organization and transportation and executive function
skills or thinking skills such as organizing, planning, prioritizing and decision making related to
each life skill being taught. This will help the child to grow up to a life that brings more
happiness and fulfillment.
In post treatment care, follow ups are done on a monthly basis for the discharge cases, and is
ensured that they are performing well on mainstream schools. If they need any form of
support, the centre extends the specific solution for their problems. All tips for Activities of
Daily Living (ADL) and instructions to make them independent is given to parents and
caretaker.

19. Visit our Website for more:
https://www.jewelautismcentre.com/
To know about Department:
https://www.jewelautismcentre.com/departments/

20. Thank You