NO.  I am fully aware of how time-consuming and complex the diagnosis process is and I feel strongly that waiting for a diagnosis before starting intervention is wasting an opportunity to EARLY INTERVENTION. 

Even if you just suspect that you child might have difficulties with any of the 'Autism Signs' there is no harm in providing an intervention to work on those difficulties.  In fact, many of the interventions for Autism difficulties are widely used in child-care centers and Nurseries to support the language, social skills, understanding and emotional development of neurotypical youngsters! 

I'd be happy to have a chat with you about any of your concerns.

Below are some of the signs that you might see in a child who has Autism Spectrum difficulties. It is very important to note here that having some of these signs, does NOT suggest that a child definitely has Autism (ASD can only be diagnosed by a team of multi-disciplinary professionals, qualified to do so). Equally, some children with ASD could show very few of these signs or only show them in certain environments or situations. The age of the child is also a big factor as children do develop at different rates and something that may be completely typical at the age of 9 months, might be a warning sign if the child is 5 years old.

In babies and toddlers, some signs to look out for are:

• lack of eye contact

• no apparent desire from the infant to get your attention

• lack of interest or excitement when you talk to them, play peek-a-boo games, etc

• not engaging in simple copy games, like copying the sounds or words you say, blowing raspberries, sticking out your tongue, facial expressions

• when the adult points at an object, the child may look at their hand, rather than at the object they are pointing too

• Does not respond to their name

For children older than 3

• Any of the above, plus:

• No or very limited language skills (at the age of 2, most children will have learned to say a range words and simple sentences)

• Not yet toilet trained - often not showing the awareness yet that they need the toilet.

• Able to name lots of things, but cannot use language to 'have a chat' or answer simple questions.

• Will point or pull an adult's hand to something that they want, rather than ask for the item.

• Very fussy eating - very limited diet - might only eat food of a specific colour or texture or show no interest in food at all.

• No interest in socialising with siblings, parents or other children (apart from when they need them to get or do something).

• Limited eye-contact, looking upwards or to the side when speaking to you.

• Flapping hands when excited, spinning, shaking head, jumping excessively, climbing inappropriately, making vocal sounds like humming or high pitched squeals at random times.

• Sensory difficulties - covers ears for certain noises, sensitive to touch / hugs / clothing / labels / material, avoids wearing shoes, becomes distressed in busy places, enjoys looking at things that spin (fans, wheels of toy cars), has very poor balance or spatial awareness.

• Emotional outbursts (like tantrums / 'meltdowns') in particular situations that are not the result of not getting what they want or being told off.

• Limited or no awareness of safety - might run into a road, climbs onto high surfaces, runs out of doors, not responding to instructions to stop.

• Eats or puts things in their mouth that are not food - this can include crayons, glue, clothing, rocks, sticks or other objects from the floor (also referred to as Pica).

• Disturbed sleep pattern - might be awake  and full of energy for most of the night.

• High functioning children with ASD might show incredible memory and ability to sight read, recognise large numbers, pick up words in different languages, memorise maps, flags, logos... far better than other children their age.

• Showing a very intense interest (hyper interest) in a specific topic - this could be a TV show, game, toy, or topic such as dinosaurs, trains...  Their interest in this topic is so intense, that they will often talk about it and research it, gaining a lot of knowledge on the topic, while seeming uninterested in other toys / games / cartoons that most of their peers are interested in.

• Repetitive behaviours like arranging toys in a particular way, lining up objects or repeating phrases over and over, out of context.

Older children

• Any of the above, plus:

• Difficulty initiating interactions with peers

• Difficulty maintaining friendships or relationships or showing no interest in playing with others

• Academic difficulties that are mainly the result of comprehension difficulties (difficulty understanding the instructions or steps they need to take; difficulty understanding Maths word problems even though they might be fantastic at solving calculations; difficulty answering questions about what they have read, even though they may be a very fluent reader; difficulty understanding social cues, jokes, rules of games, etc.)

• Lacks independence to get dressed, eat, use the toilet, organise resources (e.g. bookbag or homework)

• Seems to show a lack of empathy - not understanding the emotions of others or realising that not everyone has the same point of view as them

• Might often get into trouble at school for behaviour which they do not seem to understand is inappropriate.

• Older children might have an awareness that they are 'different' than their peers, or feel that they don't fit in.