A Parent’s Guide To Autism Symptoms

The word autism gets thrown around more often than I have ever heard from parents, teachers, babysitters, and even strangers. With such a wide range of variety in symptoms, behaviors and experiences amongst children with autism, our objective with this blog post is to dive into the symptoms and behaviors that are most common in order to help you to identify these behaviors in your own child and also learn how to best handle them. If you are the parent of a child who does not have an autism diagnosis, but wonder if it is a possibility, these are some signs and symptoms to look out for:

Echolalia

Echolalia is defined as “meaningless repetition of words just spoken by another person, occurring as a symptom of mental conditions”. This is often observed by children saying the same phrase or word over and over again. There are a few ways that children will exhibit echolalic speech. 

Immediate Echolalia: This is when a child repeats everything that you say immediately after you have said it. 

a. Single repetition: At first, it can appear like the child is repeating and using a lot of language and trying to communicate socially just as you are interacting with them. If you listen closer, however, you will find that the child is only repeating and does not have a genuine grasp of the language being used. Most of the time, though not always, the child will imitate your intonation as well. An example of this kind of interaction might sound like:

Adult: Hello 

Child: Hello 

Adult: How are you today?

Child: How are you today?

Adult: I’m good!

Child: I’m good!

b. Multi-Repetition Echolalia (not stuttering): This type of echolalia is when a child will repeat a word or phrase that you have said multiple times in a row. The child may continue to repeat the same word for a continued period of time even as you continue to talk to them or ask them other questions. An example of this kind of interaction might sound like:

Adult: How was school today?

Child: How was school today?

Adult: Did you play with your friends?

Child: How was school today?

Adult: I heard you had music with Mrs. Phillips. Was that fun?

Child: How was school today?

Delayed Echolalia: This form of echolalia is when a child fixates on a particular word, phrase, or tagline and will pull it out and repeat it at any time throughout the day. It may be something they heard earlier in the morning, yesterday or even a few weeks ago. For whatever reason, the child has some attachment to that word or phrase and will use it often. I had one child who used to say “Oohhh Toodles!” (a line from the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse TV show) frequently throughout our session. It was the only speech he had at the time, along with a few other common echolalic phrases. 

STIMMING

Stimming is a term often associated with the autism community. Stimming is the word used for someone who is seeking Sensory Stimulation. This can happen in many ways depending on the child. In my years of working with children with autism, I have seen children stim in all kinds of ways. Children may do small things like aggressively rub a pencil, flap their arms (also known as flapping) or flick their hair in front of their eyes when looking at a light to see the light shine through. I have even seen children hit themselves or bite themselves. Another common stim that I see is children dumping a bucket of toys then picking them up only to dump the bucket again. While it may seem like destructive or disruptive behavior to you as a parent or even as a stranger, this child is just looking for sensory input in whatever way suits them best. With that being said, the “sensory” aspect of the word implies that children can seek this input from any of the 5 senses (sight, sound, touch, visual and occasionally taste). We obviously don’t want our children to hurt themselves, but our children also need to be able to get sensory input somehow. Finding safe and healthy ways for your child to express these feelings is very important. The best person to work with for sensory challenges is an Occupational Therapist.

POOR EYE CONTACT

Typically children with autism will have social emotional challenges and often can present with poor eye contact. This can sometimes be very obvious with a child who looks around and never once makes eye contact, but it can also be the case for children who may make eye contact but not in a socially appropriate way. Sometimes these children will make eye contact briefly and then look away. In other instances, these children will be looking right at your face but you can tell that they are looking “through you” and not “at you”. It should be noted that not every person with poor eye contact has autism. Some people may just not enjoy making eye contact. However, in combination with other symptoms, you may be able to gain a better idea if that is a possibility for your child.

THE TAKEAWAY

Let's put it all together now! Each child is different and there is no cookie cutter way to identify a child with autism. We can, however, use a few of the common behaviors and symptoms to help identify if we think autism is a possible diagnosis for your child. If you think your child possibly has autism based on some of the behaviors they exhibit, you should make an appointment with a developmental pediatrician to get further information. Please note that these appointments are typically booked out 6 months to a year in advance so it is important to reach out as soon as you have any concerns.

Lastly, if you are nervous to have your child seen by a developmental pediatrician in fear that they might obtain a diagnosis, please don't be afraid. The same child you walk into the doctor's office with is the same child you walk out with. The only thing that changes is a few letters next to their name. You love them all the same, and now you have even more information to help them grow and develop. This information is powerful! The Mondy’s Mission team is always here to help as well in any ways we can to help your child grow and develop!

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- Austin Collignon, M.S. CCC-SLP