We found some early signs that you might have a neurodiverse child.
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According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC), 1 n 37 boys in the United States are diagnosed with Autism, with boys being about 4.5 times more likely than girls to receive a diagnosis.
Autism is a spectrum that varies in severity and symptoms. If you have concerns about your baby's development, please seek the advice of your pediatrician and contact your local early intervention program.
Early Signs of Autism
3. Motor planning, control, and typicality. Infants later diagnosed with autism tend to have some less common motor movements as a baby ( Provost et al., 2007). They might not reach across the midline, like using the right arm to reach and grab something on the left side of the body. They might not organize their behavior well, like moving their limbs suddenly or frantically, as if they don't have a good plan on what they should be doing. In addition, they might not roll or learn to crawl like other babies, they might only roll to one side, they might have repetitive behaviors, or their posture might look different from other babies who are the same age.
4. Visual tracking and orienting. This involves the ability to track objects that are moving and/or orienting to people (e.g, shifting attention to a person who has called your name, looking at someone who has entered a room). A child who is later diagnosed with autism might have difficulty tracking objects with his/her eyes, and may be less likely to shift attention to social cues.
5. Imitation. Babies begin to imitate around 7-8 months old. In addition to imitating smiles (see reciprocal social smiling above), babies imitate certain sounds and movements. For example, a baby may have fun moving a toy to copy what you're doing. Infants that might later receive an autism diagnosis may have delayed or non-existent imitation (see a study about this here).
8. Baby is hard to soothe. Likely due to some of the sensory discomforts being experienced by babies with autism, some babies can be relatively difficult to soothe. They might even resist being held closely to their parents, making it more difficult to effectively calm them. Many parents of children with autism report that they find success with gentle movements, like with a good baby swing or a gentle rocking bassinet.
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