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Today it was revealed that children across the UK are waiting up to four years to be diagnosed with autism.
Ministers criticized the “harmful” delays because they can prevent children from “receiving the help they need in other aspects of their lives”.
So what does autism look like in children?
Some babies show signs in their first months. In others, the behaviors do not become obvious until they are small. Some don’t show any signs.
Here, Dr Punit Shah, professor of psychology and neurodiversity expert at the University of Bath, looks at some of the potential telltale signs…
For many children with autism, avoiding eye contact during a conversation helps reduce anxiety, experts say.
Avoid eye contact
Not making eye contact during a conversion is a sign that your child may have autism.
This is because, for many children with autism, avoiding eye contact helps reduce anxiety, explains Dr Shah, who appeared in the first episode of the 2023 BBC documentary series ‘Inside Our Autistic Minds’ presented by Springwatch presenter Chris Packham.
“The reasons why some autistic people avoid eye contact vary and not all autistic people avoid eye contact,” he added. “For some who do it, it is to reduce anxiety, which helps them cope better in social situations.”
It can also help children with autism better understand a social situation by reading the person’s facial expressions.
Dr Shah said: “For others, it may help them process other stimuli better, without the complexity of social information from the eyes and face.”
Sensory Sensitivity
Getting distressed by loud noises is a sensory difference often noted in children with autism.
These sensory sensitivities can make it difficult to eliminate irrelevant noise, making it difficult not to feel uncomfortable or distracted, leading to an overwhelming feeling.
“Generally speaking, autistic children have sensory sensitivities to different things,” Dr. Shah said.
‘Often this can be due to predictable things, such as bright lights and loud sounds, but also unusual colors and patterns.
‘It really depends on the person.’
speech difficulty
Echoing words and phrases, not talking as much as other children, and talking “with” others are signs of autism.
Dr Shah said: “Speech is usually a little delayed in autistic children, but not always.”
“Another sign may be repetitive sounds or speech, sometimes known as echolalia, which may be a feature of autism.”
According to the NHS, taking language too literally is also a communication difficulty that autistic children often struggle with.
For example, they may not understand phrases like “break your leg” and instead take them too literally.
Communicating what they want can also be a challenge for some autistic children.
Charity Child Autism UK gives the example of leading an adult to the biscuit tin instead of asking or pointing.
Children with autism who like routine and show signs of repetitive behavior may play with the toy the same way each time or line up objects.
It can be harder for children with autism to make friends and they often choose to play alone, according to Child Autism UK.
Repetitive behavior
Preferring a very strict daily routine and getting angry if it changes is a sign of autism in children, the NHS says.
Dr. Shah explains that this need for routine can present itself in different ways and can be idiosyncratic, meaning that children will have unusual habits or ways of behaving.
However, this depends on the interests and needs of each individual.
“Typically, this may consist of the need for the daily routine to be predictable based on the schedule of daily activities,” he said.
Children with autism who like routine and show signs of repetitive behavior may play with the toy the same way each time or line up items, according to Child Autism UK.
The charity highlights that signs can also include “being restrictive about certain activities, such as eating only yellow foods, watching the same show over and over again, or wearing only your favorite jumper.”
Repetitive movements
It is not just a repetitive routine, children with autism can also repeat the same movements.
In young children, this could present as flapping of the hands, snapping of the fingers or rocking of the body, the NHS says.
However, children may also want to seek out specific visual or auditory experiences, says Child Autism UK.
The charity suggests they could be relative actions, such as spinning the wheels of a toy train, looking at the bars of a fence or listening to the tunes of your favorite programmes.
Misunderstanding of emotion
It can be harder for children with autism to make friends and they often choose to play alone, according to Child Autism UK.
Some children may also have difficulty saying how they feel and sometimes do not understand what others are feeling, the NHS says.
However, misinterpreting emotions and not seeming to understand what others are thinking or feeling can be a sign of several conditions.
Dr Shah said: “This really depends on the person and can often be related to conditions that overlap with autism, such as alexithymia (or emotional blindness) rather than autism itself.”
This may also present differently in girls with autism, as they may hide some signs of autism by copying how other children behave and play, the NHS says.
Many girls with autism also seem to cope better in social situations, but this could be because they are copying other children.
“While we know there are sex differences in autism, they are not well understood,” Professor Shah said.
‘Because the diagnostic criteria for autism themselves have been shaped primarily by clinical observation of children, we are still largely learning what autism “looks like” in girls. This will take time.
