Till now most of the research worked with the symptoms after the child first speaks. But a recent study found that ASD symptoms can be recognized before your baby first speaks. Some minor differences in social communication can be identified before the first birthday of a baby.
People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have some social communication differences. In most cases, these symptoms are exhibited at the early age of their life. A new study suggests that some social communication differences may arise at the 9 months of child’s age.
This research revealed that infants with ASD show some particular signs like inappropriate eye contact and inability to respond. Parents may not identify these signs appropriately. Hence it is very important to take help from child development specialists.
It is true that speech is the first concern while identifying the signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). But now experts are suggesting to focus on other forms of communication. Assistant professor of psychology at the University of South Carolina, Dr. Jessica Bradshaw said, “Social communication differences are part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD. Yet, we don’t really know how early in life these differences appear. Beginning at around 9 months of age, typically developing infants use their eye gaze, facial expression, sounds, and gestures to communicate. They also begin to show very early play skills around this age.”
Bradshaw also said “It was interesting to see that there were distinct patterns of social communication development from 9 to 12 months for infants who later developed ASD. Some skills were consistently low while other skills showed a ‘growing gap’ between 9 to 12 months.”