Early Signs and Symptoms

Failure to develop normal socialization skills

• Lack of eye contact
• Interest in objects rather than people
• Lack of "attachment" or emotional bonds
• Unresponsive emotionally
• Lack of desire to be held or touched
• Prefers to be alone

Communication disorders

• Echolalia
• Memorized language learning (verbatim reiteration of dialogue from video tapes, advertisements)
• Non-verbal (40% do not speak at all)
• Lack of intonation or inflection
• Use of a phrase or sentence continuously out of its typical context
• Questionable apraxia of speech

Rigidity/Inflexibility

• Need for sameness/routines
• Lack of creative-imaginative play
• Desire to hold objects daily
• Extreme reactions to change

Abnormal responses to sensory input

• Overreaction to loud noises
• Acute awareness of background noises which most are able to ignore
• Fascination with lights, venetian blinds, color patterns, using peripheral vision, textures to feel
• Spinning items or themselves around
• Walking on tip toe, or back and forth from different floor textures.
• Little response to pain.
• Sniffing objects
• Aversion to different food textures

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