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Autism Spectrum Disorder
© Erica McPhee, 2007. Reprinted
by permission.
Download PDF of this document
Autism Warning Sign Checklist
Any one symptom is usually not of concern but a combination
of symptoms, repeated frequently, can be an early warning sign. What is
considered "normal" is extremely varied. These are general guidelines
to
consider as your child develops. In and of themselves, many of these
characteristics or traits are part of normal development.
The warning signs build by developmental stages but can
appear at any age. Please note this is solely a suggestive list – it is not
to be construed as medical or expert advice. If your child exhibits several
warning signs, please talk to your pediatrician or a child development expert
specializing in autistic spectrum disorder.
If your child shows several warning signs or does not have
mostly checked boxes under the blue headings ( things
your baby should be doing), do not let your
doctor put you off. The earlier your child receives intervention, the better the
outcome.
*Stimming or stims are behaviors engaged in to self-sooth. They can be
anything such as head banging, spinning, rolling eyes, looking at things from the
corners of the eyes, flapping arms, making noises, lining things up, shuffling
feet, tapping, etc.
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AGE: 2 MONTHS |
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Things your baby should be doing:
Follows you with his/her eyes
Startles at loud noises
Gains weight appropriately |
Warning signs:
Rashes all over or persistent yeast rash
Reflux (lengthy crying spells, frequent spitting up, choking while
feeding, aspirating)
Excessive gas
Begins chronic constipation or (explosive) diarrhea after
vaccinations |
|
AGE: 4 MONTHS |
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Things your baby should be doing:
Smiling back at you when you laugh or smile
Making babbling sounds
Interested in looking at your face
Gaining weight appropriately
Typically can roll over
No apparent weakness on either side
Head is straight – not always tilted to one side
Eyes should now be straight
Having regular bowel movements |
Warning signs:
Staring without following you or an object
No change in facial expression
Limited eye contact
Stops babbling after a period of babbling sounds
Food intolerances
Preoccupation with spinning objects (fans, wheels, etc.)
Begins repeat ear infections or chronic illnesses
Develops asthma or frequent upper respiratory infections
Frequent "colic" or extensive crying
Unusually "easy" baby, never fussing, never crying
Shows reaction to any vaccinations |
|
AGE
6 MONTHS |
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Things your baby should be doing:
Sit with assistance for a short time
Interested in activity of others around them
Beginning to show interest in food
Cooing and or babbling
Rolling over
Supporting weight on both legs with help
Waking only once per night if at all
Napping twice per day on a regular schedule |
Warning signs:
No verbal sounds
Does not roll from side to side
If sitting and falls over, does not reach out with arms to catch
her/himself
Has crossed eyes or other visual disturbance
Cries frequently for no reason |
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AGE 9 MONTHS
|
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T hings
your baby should be doing:
Showing interest in food
Crawling
Able to sit unassisted
Beginning to gesture or point
Express whether happy or sad by
smiling or crying appropriately
Sleeping through most nights on a
regular basis
Beginning to show signs of separation
anxiety |
Warning signs:
Headbanging on walls or floors or
headbutting people
High tolerance to pain
Extreme sensitivity
Pushing head on carpet or along the
wall
Wounded soldier crawl
Obsessed with a single toy or item
(i.e. telephone, remote control) in place of toys
Not much interested in toys
Low muscle tone (hypotonia) or extreme
(hyper-) flexibility
Hypertonia – extremely tense, rigid
muscles
Not babbling with "baba," "dada"
sounds
Does not smile or laugh interactively
Appears to have hearing impairment
Frequent night waking
Chronic resistance to naps
Unconcerned with mother’s or father’s
presence or lack there of
Chronically congested or chronic upper
respiratory infections or ear infections |
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AGE 12 MONTHS
|
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Things your baby should be doing:
Able to understand most of what is
said to him/her
Starting to stand unassisted, some
even walking
Saying at least one word
Looking at your eyes when you speak to
him/her
Able to understand yes and no
Pointing to objects
Making desires known
Beginning to eat or regularly eating
solid foods
Waving hi and bye
Play peek-a-boo or patty-cake
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Warning signs:
Obviously large head size in
comparison to body
Does not point or otherwise gesture
for objects
Avoids eye contact
Does not notice other children or
siblings
Difficulty with transitions and/or new
things
Excessive tantrums or aggressive
behaviors
Unhealthy attachments to inanimate
objects
Shows no interest in table food
Frequently gags, chokes, or shows
sensory issues to texture
Easily and/or excessively irritated by
tags on clothing or socks and shoes
Does not brace him/herself when
falling
Afraid of the bathtub or water
Head seems excessively large
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AGE 18 MONTHS
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Things your toddler should be doing:
Walking steadily unassisted
Eating a varied diet of table food
Saying at least five or more
recognizable words consistently
Understanding what you are saying
Making good eye contact
Laughing and smiling interactively
Playing with toys
Beginning to pretend play
Climbing over furniture, obstacles,
etc., climbing up on things |
Warning signs:
Frequently spinning in circles
Frequently walking on tiptoes
Licking the air or objects
Frequent self-stimulatory (stimming*
or stim) behavior.
Looks at things out of the corners of
the eyes
Frequent uncontrollable and/or violent
tantrums
Pinching, hitting, biting, or
scratching repeatedly and/or frequently
Slamming (crashing) into furniture or
people
Extremely sensitive
Extreme
difficulty with transitions
Unusually long
attention span (like for movies or TV)
Does not respond
to name after repeated efforts
Fixated on
television, computer, or other objects such as telephone or remote
control
Self selected
diet to gluten and casein or single foods
Consistently red
ears and/or red cheeks
Afraid of loud
noises
Covers ears
Does not allow
you to brush his/her teeth
Fights having
nails clipped
Easy gag reflex
Plays with same
toy repetitively for extended amounts of time
Does not
acknowledge other people or children
Refuses to get
into car seat, arches back, tantrums
Hyperactive
behavior
Excessive
fascination and/or obsession with dinosaurs or trains (particularly
Thomas the Tank engine)
Frequent sighing
Does not like
fingers or toes touched
Delayed
dentition (teeth) |
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AGE 24 MONTHS
|
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Things your toddler should be doing:
Using at least 50+ words
Putting 2 - 3 words together
Interacting with other children
Eating a varied diet
Doing pretend play with sounds
Beginning to show interest in toilet
training |
Warning signs:
Limited diet of mac & cheese, chicken
nuggets, and other wheat and dairy products
Echolalia – repeating words back
sometimes seeming like they are answering you and then upset if it is
not what they want (ex. You ask, "Do you want to go outside?" Child
says, "Go outside." You think this means they want to go outside so you
take them outside. Toddler says, "No." or has tantrum because s/he was
not really answering but was repeating back what you said.
Scripting – repeating movie or TV
lines – even in context
Obsessive compulsive behaviors – hand
washing, checking things, shuffling feet, rituals
Underweight or height for age group
Insists on sameness or resistant to
change
Difficulty expressing wants or needs
Repeats words or phrases
Excessive anxiety or irritable
behaviors
Aloof
Overwhelmed in noisy, bright
environments (like Jokers)
Frequently covers ears
Averse to singing or
being sung to
Excessive laughing for no
apparent reason
Excessive fear of
strangers or relatives or
No fear of strangers
Chronic constipation or
diarrhea
Continued resistance to
toilet training
Feces smearing
Intolerance to clothing
or removes clothing frequently
Hyper-sexual – excessive
masturbation
Makes frequent loud
noises or shrills and chirps
Wringing of hands or
rocking behavior
Arm flapping
Maintains tilted head
Cannot jump
Cannot follow directions
Cannot express wants
Appears to be deaf at
times
Hyperactive or
inattentive
Oppositional and/or
defiant (more so than usual for toddlers)
Lost words s/he used to
say
Does not use inflection -
monotone
Prefers to play alone
Does not play with toys
Does not smile back when
smiled at
Does not like to cuddle
or be touched
Does not like to have
fingers, ears, or toes touched
Extreme independence
No regard for consequence
(not upset by reprimand)
Precocious – developing
or learning way ahead of peers with other warning signs
Showing signs of genius
coupled with other warning signs
Unusual obsession with
certain objects, subjects, or routines (ex. Must hold certain object at
all times.)
In older children –
trouble interpreting sarcasm – very literal
Delayed dexterity
(uncoordinated, fine motor skills)
Apraxia – inability to
make purposeful movements
Development of Tourette’s
syndrome (facial and other tics, spontaneous noises) |
Erica
McPee has
tried to make this list as inclusive as possible. If anything is missing, please
e-mail her at:
info@recoveredfromautism.com
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