Signs of AS in babies

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I first suspected AS in my daughter when she started school; with hindsight, once I had read up on it, there had been clues since birth.

She couldn't 'latch-on' when breast feeding; she had an intense dislike of loud noise, particularly when the noise was more of a cacophony, ie fairground music; she missed out the crawling stage completely; clumsy walking as a toddler; extreme sensitivity to pain; refusal to speak to anyone but those very familiar to her, despite speaking very early (vocab of over 500 words at 30 months).

Of course, some of these things can indicate an an overlap with dyspraxia.

Refusal to speak? I wish. My daughter started talking quite early and hasn't shut up since. She doesn't even stop for breath.

Will she readily speak with strangers?

Ok, here is a brief list of behaviour of toddlers that CAN (not MUST) anticipate autism, Asperger and/or giftedness (yes, that's true, basically there is a very little distinction between the first signs of giftedness and autism expecially if none of the two is "too much").

Autistic Spectrum and Gifted youngs characteristics:

Co-morbidity:
- Gastrointestinal reflux
- Allergies (expecially gluten and milk)
- miopia
- tinnitus

Sensory:
- Walks on toe (this is due to oversensitivites, mainly)
- Hate scratchy labels on cloths or some kind of clothes (for istance shoes, wool, or things like that)
- Sounds oversensibilities (vacuum cleaner, motorbikes, bells, etc..)
- hate to be touched (ok this must be specified: there are many aspie child who are strongly attached to their parents, for istance my daughter is always on my arms but SHE must decide to come, I can't simply go to her and scratch his hair, she'll go berserk, and she don't want to be held by others. A usual things is that when you try to fed them or kiss them, they put their head back).
- Picky food eating
- hate being in the car

Talking:
there are a lot of differences here, the main things is that "it's different".
They can:
- Skipping babbling can be a sign
- talk early and be very verbose
- talk later
- talk mainly with signs and sounds (animal sounds mainly).

Growing:
- usually skewed. Analytical and/or language skills usually advanced versus and social skills.
- usually starts reading early (early for his "average" mental age)

Social:
- usually hates being with other childrens
- Challenge autorities (the difference here is that usually people think that AS do that because lack understanding of the social rules while gifted do that because they know the social rules but think that it's stupid)
- Doesn't want to wait "in line"

Focus:
- there is something that realy catch their attention and it's hard to distract them
- tendency to fixate on objects

Stimming:
- whirl hairs and/or puppets and/or flap or move a lot hands/feet, rocks, etc..
- swayed her head back and forth rhythmically very often

Crying:
- many AS toddlers don't cry or simply cry out aloud with fear/anger not like "other children".

Walking:
- skipping crawling, going right to walking

Other:
- have meltdowns
- shout up for long periods
- Space out
- Tantrum without apparent reasons
- Need routine

How to differentiate Autistic/Asperger toddlers and gifted/introversed toddlers:

this is very difficult,
the main difference of a gifted toddlers (usually) are:
- can understand humor/jokes very early
- talk early (not always)
- usually have a good fine motor skills (take a pencil, eat alone, make puzzles, etc..)
- higher analytical abilites (easier to see on males than females)
- they dislike other childrens but are usually fine with adults
- show caring things and understanding of pain on others (if the mum hurts herself, etc..)
- understand easly abstract ideas and have a good degree of generalization (for istance many autistic children have problem generalizing the concept of "ball" seeing different balls while usually gifted children call ball everything that have the form of a ball)
- reciprocate smiling
- both loves routines but gifted dislikes repetitive intellectual routines (they always need new stimuli) and loves a creative playground (usually described like stuborn instead of "loving routines").
- Highly creative and imaginative
- very aware of their environment (follow people with eyes at an early age for istance)


While autistic toddler usually:

- doesn't look when you look at something
- lack of facial expression
- infrequent eye contact
- not smiling in response to smiles from others
- Tend not to understand gestures
- Late in toilette training and self-help abilities

typical of autism but apply less on gifted/autistic or within autistic girls:

- Limited imagination
- Lack of creative play

I hope that I've helped

P.S.
There is always the chance of a 2E (twice exceptional) child, it's basically impossible in the case of both giftedness and AS to understand wich one is the case and wich one will prevail in adulthood.

Last edited by Nightsun on 24 Dec 2009, 4:42 am, edited 2 times in total.

I agree with a lot of other parents on this one....looking back, I can look at my daughter's behavior as an infant and think "ok the AS sure explains THAT" but I don't think I would have been able to recognize it at the time. Here are a few of the things that I see when I think back to her early behavior:

-VERY early (immediately after birth) she did not like to be swaddled, held for long periods of time, screamed with any restrictive clothing (hair bows, etc)
-Unusually interested in studying the environment. Was trying to lift her head to follow movement around the room 2 hours after birth.
-She would be completely quiet and just observe when we were in the woods hiking, but the instant we went into a store all hell broke loose.
-Never breast fed correctly...she was always hungry but never latched on right
-Wanted food early...started adding cereal to her bottles at 6 weeks because she would scream like she was being tortured any time she saw us eating solid foods.
-The quiet moments most parents get when they hold their infant only happened for us with the repetitive rocking of the swing
-Was faster than typical with major milestones, but not in a "normal" way. She was walking by 9 months, but never crawled. Had spoken several words by 18 months, and used the words correctly, but never used a word twice. She would say something and then never repeat it again. Also very selective about who she would talk to...around mom and dad she talked up a storm, but her grandfather wasn't convinced she could speak until she was 3.
-This is a little later on in life, but ahhh the joy of changing diapers until your child is 5:)

I'm sure there were other signs but these are the ones that stand out to me when I think back on her behavior in the first year.

I've got a talker too! He'll talk to anyone who'll listen.

Talks in his sleep too!

Edited to add: Actually, I don't know if he's really bothered about whether he's listened to or not, but then again, recently he has started asking me questions to check I have been paying attention.

Ahhh...yes, potty training. My daughter didn't potty train until right around her 4th birthday. More than a year before that, she could go on command. She could go if I put her on the potty, but she just couldn't seem to get the sensation of feeling like she needed to go. Even now, she rarely goes (granted, she doesn't eat or drink much). How you make your child use the restroom more frequently, I don't know. It's just not as strong of a sensation for her or something. It was one of the hardest times of my parenting "career." I can't tell you how many times I heard "Oh girls, are SO much easier to potty train." Not my experience at all.

Also, she would talk to anyone and everyone. She is not afraid of people at all. She does show anxiety for lots of things things and can tell you why she should be more careful, but she doesn't really get it. She would walk away with anyone if they offered her the opportunity to pet their dog. VERY scary to a mommy!!

I screamed instead of cried. My mom swears she thought I was going to make the entire household deaf. I would scream when the vaccume cleaner was turned on, when the air conditioner came on, I would scream when held, I would scream when touched, I would scream when dressed. I was a foster child and no one aside from my adoptive parents could tolerate me for more than one night. I wonder if the constant change in routine had something to do with it or my possible bi polar.

I had an intense fear of everyone and only trusted my mom until I was round nine or so.

Like everyone else said - this is easier to spot in hindsight as "autism". At the time - it can look like the "gifted" behavior as mentioned already, too. My guy had some things I noticed as a baby that were different.

As an infant - extreme, early visual curiosity. Like fixation on water coming out of a faucet, and reaching for it, and looking like he's studying it (this is at one month of age). Finding a single human hair and putting it in his mouth. He would have pulled my hair out strand by strand if he would have been allowed. This is all sensory stuff. A dislike of "friendly" relatives who get too close and look at him with wide, staring eyes (that most babies LOVE, by the way). I could calm my guy down by letting him play in the sink with water and splashing.

Before my son was age 2, he once cried when we passed by the street where I usually would turn to get home (how did he notice that... visual stuff again).

As they get older - mine never waved bye-bye or gestured to point to show me something. No babbling at all. Mine laughed and giggled quite a bit, so they are not always gaze-averters. I could have had an earlier Dx for my son if someone wouldn't have ruled out autism based on his having a sense of humor / giggling and interest in some people. He would laugh going down the slide - but we could not get him to say "wheee" for the longest time.

Scared to death of "sudden" noises or toys like a jack-in-the-box. Easily scared into a frenzy over things that make other babies laugh.

At about age one - stacking cans. A first word was of a "thing" instead of something like "bye-bye" that is more social. I know Asperger kids can talk early, but my PDD-NOS guy was a late talker, but extreme early reader. Copies patterns at an extremely early age (my son wrote his name at 23 months with no help / no instruction).

My mom radar knew something was different, but I didn't know about autism back then, and everyone kept saying he seemed "smart".

Yes, as if they are her long lost best friend. It scares me as she does not see the danger. She'll start talking to a stranger at the train station and then think they are her friend and would accept a lift off them if the train doesn't turn up.

On the other hand, if it is a safe situation, like the local church youth club, she'll stand in the corner and not speak to anyone because she can't cope with the group.

Every child is so different in how they present. I am going to cut this pretty short as I can write a few pages on this.
Two children

Nathan was the easiest child from day one, he just wasn't interested in people as much as things. At three months, I noticed that he was not typical. He didn't seem to notice that I was a familiar face. When someone else was looking at him, he didn't seem to have a preference between me at that other person. He rarely cooed or babbled. He wasn't a difficult baby at all. In fact, people frequently commented on what an easy baby he was.

As he became older, he was even more fixated on how things worked (4 - 6 months). He didn't like peek a boo or just wasn't interested. He didn't cry when I left the room.
As he got even older, there was no joint interaction between me and him. He was only interested in what he was doing at the moment even if I was holding one of his favorite toys. He would entertain himself so much by figuring things out at such an early age. It's amazing. Such an easy baby. Attention span even at a very early age - off the charts excellent. ...becoming older.....no hyperactivity, no sleeping issues at all, not issues with tactile sensitivity that I can remember. Nothing. He didn't like certain noises in his environment and would often plug his ears but that's it. He hated music, couldn't stand it. So, my now six year old didn't talk until almost age three because there really wan't a good enough reason to communicate. He can't stop talking now.

Now my two year old. My two year old and my six year old are the polar opposites in so many ways.When my two year old was around 3 - 6 months, he was what I can honestly say was the typical baby. He couldn't get enough of the whole social interaction thing at such an early age. He constantly wanted to look at me and smile, and play little peek a boo games. He started to coo and babble right on target. Seems to consistently response to his name, always had. He is what most people would label as a "very social able child" mainly because of his hyperactivity.

Yet it is my two year old who exhibits "typical or well known" autism spectrum traits when it comes to sensory and routine. He can't stand to wear shirts or socks, most of the time. He must have those items off right when we enter the house. Our house is the place of deflation. If he can't take off his shirt, he will throw himself on the floor and melt. It's painful to watch. Other times he will just say, "Shirt off, shirt off, shirt off, shirt off..." kills me. Sometimes when you take off the shirt, he flips out and you don't know why -just using the shirt as an example. It's figuring out the best way to communicate. He also has a certain routine with food. He goes to a wonderful daycare place during the day and this person is so wonderful with routine. She serves food a certain way. I am different at home. I have found that the closer I am to her food routine, the more he eats for me. I have to be a lot more aware of the whole routine thing than I did with my six year old. When he is in a bad mood, there is no consoling him. None. His attention span is nil.He loves music (Nate hated music), fine motor skills for his age are pretty low yet Nate was extremely advanced. Youngest pretend plays, oldest did not until this year. I can go on and on...

I can write a full book on my kids differences and similarities. They are both wonderful kids. I think a lot of their different reactions have to do with the amount of sensory distractions you can take in from your environment at one time and still function. Why my youngest is in a well established routine, knows what is coming up, is in a quieter environment and doesn't have seams, tags on his clothes, he is able to focus and attend to something a lot longer and then can become more "Nate like". It's just hard to calm his nervous system down.

So Nathan is a spitting imagine of my husband in almost everyway yet looks like me. Our youngest is a spitting imagine of me yet looks like my husband. Go figure.

With so many "easy baby" posts I thought I should say more about my AS son. The opposite of an "easy baby" .

He slept far less than other babies.

He wanted to be held by me far more.

He did have trouble breastfeeding the first few days but that seemed to be caused my milk coming in too slow for his patience level, and it got solved with the help of a very good lactation consultant.

He was very much a sensory seeker up through his toddler years; he has since overloaded and learned to avoid many of the things he once sought.

Never stuck to a routine.

Sat very early. Talked on the early side.

Learned to push up into a sitting position and crawling position in a very unique way - walking his hands up while in a center split. I guess that was the first sign of the hypomobility/low muscle tone issue, but we found it adorable.

He developed stranger anxiety very early, at 4 months, and absolutely could not adjust to any form of group care. He also sent 3 potential nannies crying out the front door (I was supposed to be working part time).

He always related to adults better than other kids.

Figuring out how to get a shower in was hell.

He fell off of so many things he should have been safe on and got quite a few head bumps along the way, too - he never could sit still.

He didn't have enough attention span to get through a meal, so we started giving him dinner shows while slipping spoons into his mouth.

He was my first, so I had nothing to compare to, but while he took all our energy away, he was just so amazing. He was unique and lively and different in almost every way. People were always smiling and saying, "wow, I've never seen a baby do that before." Or, "he has so much sparkle!" Stuff like that; he really attracted attention, and he seemed to thrive on it back then.

Last edited by DW_a_mom on 23 Dec 2009, 2:31 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Honestly, I've never met a baby who didn't love a ceiling fan. Including my own!


(If I had to put a 'flag' out there to watch for, it would be eye contact.)

@DW_Mom:
mm... your first child remember me my daughter in a frightening way

The worst things is properly her attachment (not for us, but it's stressing because she always wants to be on my arms but then start moving, rocking, swinging, and my arms always harms after that) but mainly because people don't understand. When I say "I can't put her on daycare", they just don't understand, and it's frustrating while people look at you as a "bad parent" and "overprotecting".

The first thing I remember about my daughter was when the nurse brought her into the room after birth and placed her on her stomach, and she lifted her head up and held it there, bobbing up and down like a lizard, and trying to follow movement. She also could not drink properly; for months, I was unable to give her any liquids because she would not take the bottle anymore (even though she was just a few months old), and could not drink from a cu yet. I tried giving her juice etc. with a spoon but she just spit it out, so I made sure her food was pretty juicy... then one day I decided to try something different and ordered a big glass of juice with a straw, sat it in front of her and told her to drink it. She could not speak yet, but I told her "suck it, go on,"" and sucked air, so she could see what I wanted her to do... then she finally got it and sucked the straw. First time, of course, up the wind pipe and she coughed a couple times, but then she grabbed the straw and finished the whole cup!

Next stop, grocery store to buy a pack of straws.

She also started eating with a FORK (adult metal) before she was one, unassisted -- because she would see us eating with a fork and all of a sudden, refused anything other than eating with the same thing. She would throw the spoon and scream with her hand open and her eyes fixed on the fork. One day I just got tired and said, what the heck, I am here, let's see what she does. I held the fork for the first few bites while she got used to the spikes but never had an accident. Also, she held it properly -- like us.

And... before she could even hold herself up (I propped her with pillows when she was sitting down) she liked to complete crosswords. Well, not exactly, but she would hold the crosswords and the pencil and fill in circles exactly inside each letter. It was a bit freaky, but amazing to see her dexterity.

Anyway. It was hard dealing with some aspects of her Asperger's but I guess it helped that I could relate with her so well, and had an open mind to her needs and differences. Cause I am an Aspie too .

My son seemed totally normal at birth. He breastfed wonderfully, was cuddly, and had eye contact. He smiled on schedule, and rolled over at 3 mos. right on target. The day after his 4 mo. vaccinations, he started shaking his head side to side like he was saying "no". He is 4.5 now and he still does it now (only with music or when he is overly stimulated.)

At 6 mos., I noticed that he was not attempting to sit up. The doctor said to give it time. I kept working with him and then at 1 year old, he was not attempting to crawl. He was very content to lay on his back and stare at the ceiling and flap his hands. He did not seem interested in toys, he did not point, he was not showing me things.

He did start to babble at 11 mos, and he started belly crawling at 11 mos. and he finally started the regular crawl at 14 mos. He did not walk until he was 21 mos. old. He had lots of words, but was not using them meaningfully. He had no interest in other children.

The confusing thing was that he never did things like stacking things or lining things up. He never really had bad tantrums, he was always lovable and had good eye contact. But there was something "missing" He just didn't seem to get things like other kids. However, he was very quick to learn all of his letters and numbers before 2 years old. He could also pronounce big words.

He has always been a good eater, and did not have many sensory issues.

He has been in therapy since he was 1, and he is now 4.5 and seems to be progressing fairly well, although he still has trouble with play (independent play and play with others)

It has been a journey, but we are coming along!