Delaware County Medicine & Health Spring 2017 - 19

Some of the early signs/red flags of ASD in children include:
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Child avoids or is unable to maintain eye contact
Child does not respond when called by his or her name
Child has inconsistent response when called by his or her name
Child does not use any speech or gesture to communicate or does not understand language
Child constantly makes unintelligible sounds or grunts
Child does not look at objects/toys to which the parent is pointing
Child does not point to interesting objects/toys for attention
Child does not interact or play with others
Child does not show interest in toys or is unable to share interests
Child becomes easily frustrated or seems very anxious
Child has excessive tantrums with change in routines or with minimal or no triggers
Child does not show appropriate facial expressions or respond to facial expressions of parents/others
Child displays unusual movements such as hand flapping, spinning, looking at things or
gazing through the corner of the eye or too closely
* Child has unusual attachment to certain objects or toys
* Child may seem overly sensitive or under sensitive to certain stimuli, like pain or changes in temperature;
* Occasionally, there may be loss of milestones, such as speech, already achieved.

How is the diagnosis made?
When ASD is suspected as the cause of language and social delays,
the child should be referred for early intervention services and comprehensive evaluation. The diagnostic evaluation for Autism could be
done by developmental pediatricians, child neurologists, child psychiatrists or child psychologists with the help of speech and language
pathologists, occupational and physical therapists and educators.
The diagnostic evaluation includes:
* Observation of child's play and child-caregiver interactions
* Detailed history and physical examination
* Review of records of previous early
intervention services and school and
psychological evaluations
* Developmental assessment of motor,
language, self-help, cognitive and social skills
* Hearing test, if child presents with speech delay

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Delaware County Medicine & Health Spring 2017
