For Autism Awareness month, The Hanen Centre have contacted me with an offer of a free e-seminar “Starting Early – Red Flags and Treatment Tips for Toddlers on the Autism Spectrum” for one of the readers of this blog. I have just done this e-seminar and recommend it. It provides clear information on how to identify toddlers who are at risk for ASD as well as useful treatment tips. See at the end of this blog how to participate to win it.
There is definitely greater awareness of autism in the community and the question “Do you think it could be autism?” is one I hear a lot, especially where toddlers are concerned. Whilst I don’t specialise in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and would never put a label of autism so early, I need to address that question and identify children who may be at risk for ASD. Communication begins well before the first words and occurs through a variety of verbal and non-verbal behaviours which can be observed through play-based assessment. Here are some behaviours that can be considered "red flags" for ASD:
Eye-contact: Poor eye-contact, especially eye-contact as a form of communication is considered a risk factor for autism.
Response to name: kids with autism display low social attention. They may not respond to their name when being called, although they might react to noises in their environment.
Social smile and shared positive emotions: typically developing children respond to smiling as early as 4 months of age. Later, they may smile, laugh or express surprise when something unusual happens (e.g. operating a wind-up toy, blowing a balloon and letting it go). Reduced social interactions and shared positive emotions can act as a red flag for autism.
Joint attention: does the child understand pointing? If you blow bubbles and point to them saying “Look! Bubbles!” does the child look in the direction of the bubbles? Children with autism find it hard to shift their attention and may not respond consistently. Or they may look at your finger rather than the bubbles. Also, is the child’s attention focussed on people or objects? Children who go on to have a diagnosis of autism tend to focus their attention more on objects than on people.
Imitation: children with autism are less likely to imitate actions or sounds. Show them how to operate a pop-up toy, a ball chute or how to stack cups. Do they try to imitate?
How does the child engage with toys: children with autism tend to demonstrate atypical exploration of toys. For example, with a toy truck, do they prefer to spin the wheels of the truck rather than “driving” it?
Regression: parents sometimes report that their child has stopped using words they were using previously. It is not uncommon to observe a loss of skills in children with autism after their first birthday.
Of course, all children who display the above behaviours from time to time may not necessarily have autism nor is the list above a substitute for a comprehensive assessment. It is an indication of some of the behaviours that need to be taken into account when identifying children at risk.
In Western Australia, an autism assessment is done by a team comprising of a speech pathologist, a psychologist and a paediatrician. Further information regarding autism (in WA) can be obtained through the Autism Association of WA, Autism West and overseas, with The Hanen Centre.
For Autism Awareness Month, The Hanen Centre has a 40% discount on their autism e-seminars (code AAMSEM16) for the month of April 2016. They are also offering one free e-seminar “Starting Early – Red Flags and Treatment Tips for Toddlers on the Autism Spectrum” to one of my readers. This seminar is suited to speech pathologists, professionals who work with young children and to students in early education. To win it, post a comment below, stating what your professional qualifications are and a winner will be picked at random. Entries close at 5 pm (Perth, Western Australia time) Thursday 21th April 2016. Do not forget to include your email in your details. It won’t appear publicly but I will be able to contact you to redeem your offer.
Disclosure statement: The Hanen Centre have approached me with this offer, but I do not derive any financial benefit from it, nor would I recommend their resources if I didn’t value them.
Looking for language tips, activities and ideas? This blog is for parents, speech pathologists, teachers, educators and anyone with an interest in speech and language.