by C. L. Jarm

Created on: February 11, 2009   Last Updated: February 22, 2009

It is very hard to diagnose Autism and even harder to say why the child is autistic. There have been times in the past that it was thought of as mental retardation. The onset of Autism might have a link to the MMR vaccine, although there is not enough proof either way to determine the outcome of that debate.

There are signs of autism to look for even a very early age. One sign, overlooked by many, is the lack of muscle coordination in either one or both arms or legs. This diminished coordination may show as a baby not holding a mother around her neck when picked up. It may also show in crawling with one leg not quite working properly so the child slides. Unfortunately, these can also be diagnoses for many other things, but it can be a first hint. This can be heartbreak for a mother because the child does not want cuddling. They will squirm away and leave the mother wondering if she had done something wrong.

Slow or diminished speech is another thing to look for in diagnosing autism. A child can seem to be developing speech patterns normally then suddenly stop talking. The spectrum also includes Asperger's, a similar to autism malady. This can be very frustrating for the parents and the child. Learning sign language and the use of picture cards can help with this immensely. Both the sign language and cards can help the toddler let one tell what he wants to eat, drink, when he has to go to the bathroom and show him how to dress.

Drawing circles repeatedly is a big heads up that the child is somewhere on the spectrum. That will be the only thing they do draw. Repetition is the autistic child's friend. It is also a good way to recognize a problem. They will listen to the same song repeatedly; even pink it out of a box of two hundred songs. Look for repetition as part of your diagnoses.

Hypersensitivity to sound is part of the autistic child's life. They hear everything at once, so to just one voice may be horrifying. Picture a restaurant at a buffet scene with all the tableware crashing at once and many people talking. This can send a child with autism into a bellowing scream and a temper tantrum. Overload of auditory sensory is very common to these children. Silencer headphones or headphones playing music they like will help in this situation.

Eye contact is not a viable option for an autistic child. They will look away or look down. Never take this personally or try to make them look at you. This will send them hurdling into fits of rage or streams of tears. They are very afraid of people that they do not know.

Some autistic children develop seizure disorders. They are not common with all autistic children and may not be common seizures as one would think of them, they are what is called absence seizures, staring into space or light petite mal seizures.

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