ASD

Communication

• Not speaking or very limited speech
• Loss of words the child was previously able to say
• Difficulty expressing basic wants and needs
• Poor vocabulary development
• Problems following directions or finding objects that are named
• Repeating what is said (echolalia)
• Problems answering questions
• Speech that sounds different (e.g., “robotic” speech or speech that is high-pitched)

Social Skills

• Poor eye contact with people or objects
• Poor play skills
• Being overly focused on a topic or objects that interest them
• Problems making friends
• Crying, becoming angry, giggling, or laughing for no known reason or at the wrong time
• Disliking being touched or held

Behaviour

Reacting to the world around them:

• Rocking, hand flapping or other movements (self-stimulating movements)
• Not paying attention to things the child sees or hears
• Problems dealing with changes in routine
• Using objects in unusual ways
• Unusual attachments to objects
• No fear of real dangers
• Being either very sensitive or not sensitive enough to touch, light, or sounds (e.g., disliking loud sounds or only responding when sounds are very loud)
• Feeding difficulties (accepting only select foods, refusing certain food textures)