Does a Child With Autism Reach Developmental Milestones on Time?

A developmental milestone is a sign of typical autism child development and it reaches to more children’s between birth and adulthood. Early milestones include rolling over, social smiles, and sitting up. Later milestones involve the acquisition of social, physical, language, emotional skills, and intellectual abilities.

A child with autism tends not to reach all of their developmental milestones at the appropriate times. But that statement is a huge overview of the reality because:

·         Many of the autism children reach to developmental milestones on time or early, but then lose ground.

·         Most of the autistic children reach some of their developmental milestones on time or early, but reaches late to others or not at all.

·         Some of the autistic children reach some of their developmental milestones extraordinarily early but reach others extraordinarily late.

·         A Children with autism can appear to gain important skills but in fact unable to use those skills in real world situations.

·         Many of the children with autism have so called "splinter" skills, which can be very advanced but which are not useful in daily life.

·         In Autistic children, particularly girls who are high-functioning are sometimes able to overcome or hide some developmental delays.

With few absolutes, it's no wonder that both parents and practitioners can find it hard to spot autism and especially in very young or very high functioning children. However, a few developmental milestone markers are most likely and most obvious when a child is autistic.

What Are the Developmental Milestones?

The CDC has divided the developmental milestones into few groups: movement/physical, cognitive, language/communication, social/emotional. They listed some specific levels of achievement for each age, starting with 1 month and moving through adolescence. While they make it clear that, then autistic children may not reach any given milestone at the precise age described, they also suggest that parents to keep an eye out to be sure that their child is at or close to normal.

Most of the children with autism are diagnosed at a relatively young age often by the age of 3. Here is a simplified list of development milestones for 3-year-olds from the CDC:

·         Social and Emotional

·         Copies adults and friends

·         Shows affection for friends without prompting

·         Takes turns in games

·         Shows concern for crying friend

·         Will understands the idea of “mine” and “hers” or “his”

·         Shows a wide range of emotions

·         Separates easily from dad and mom

·         May get sudden upset with major changes in routine 

·         Dresses and undresses themselves

Language/Communication

·         Follows instructions with two or three steps

·         Can name most of the familiar things

·         Can able to understand the words like “on,” “in,” & “under”

·         Says first name, age, and sex 

·         Names a friend

·         Says the words like “I,” “me,” “you,” and “we” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)

·         Talks well enough with the strangers to understand most of the time.

·         Carries a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences

Cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving)

·         Can work with toys buttons, levers, and moving parts

·         Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people

·         Completes puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces

·         Understands what “two” means

·         Copies a circle with crayon or pencil

·         Turns book pages once at a time

·         Builds the towers of more than 6 blocks

·         Turns door handle or Screws and unscrews jar lids

Movement/Physical Development

·         Climbs well

·         Runs so easily

·         Pedals a tricycle (3-wheel bike)

·         Walks the stairs with one foot on each step.

When Missing Developmental Milestones May Suggest Autism

There are many reasons why children with autism miss developmental milestones. In most cases, there's no particular cause for concern. That's because:

·         Children are different from one another & naturally, develop at different rates.

·         Children who are born prematurely may miss developmental milestones but usually catch up.

·         Boys are often slower in development than girls, but almost always catch up.

·         Many children are focused on certain developmental milestones that they may miss others. For example, a physically adapted child may reach mostly on advanced physical milestones and then later catch up on social milestones.

·         Early medical challenges may slow developmental but most children are able to catch up to their same-age peers.

·         Certain correctable challenges, such as difficulty with hearing, can slow early development but will have little impact on long term development.

So when should parents be concerned about autism? CDC has provides a short list of issues that should raise red flags.

·         Can’t work with simple toys (such as peg boards, simple puzzles, turning handle)

·         Does not speak in sentences

·         Does not understand simple instructions

·         Does not play pretend or make believe

·         Does not want to play with toys or other children

·         Does not make an eye contact

·         Loses skills he once had

While these issues can be a signs of autism however, they may not be. Autism is more likely when children have more than one of these issues or have other related issues in the social or emotional or communication realms.

Why Monitoring Developmental Milestones for Autism Child Can Be Misleading

Sometimes, children with autism miss multiple developmental milestones and have clear and obvious developmental delays. Often, however, missed milestones can be even invisible or masked. This is because children with autism are not simply delayed they learn and behave differently from their typical peers.

In addition, autism is rarely obvious from birth. Many children with autism develop normally in a period of time and then either slow down, develop idiosyncratically, or actually regress. Because of these types of issues, it can be tough to spot autism just by watching for missed developmental milestones.

How Autistic Delays Can Be Masked or Hidden

Some children with autism have severe behavioral challenges, cognitive delays, or physical "stims" (rocking or flapping) that make it obvious something is wrong. But many autism children have few mild delays, challenges, or stims. When that's the case, the developmental delays may be hard to spot.

Here are a few groups of autism children whose developmental delays may not be obvious until social smiles, emotions, or communication demands increase (usually after grades 1 or 2):

·         Girls: Generally autism causes the children to be quiet, socially withdrawn, and less likely to raise their hands or speak out. They may appear inattentive and their behaviors are culturally appropriate for girls in most parts of the world. Thus, young autistic girls who are not meeting milestones may slide under the radar. They are also often labeled as "shy and quiet," and perhaps, not terribly bright. It may take a quite while for teachers and parents to notice other symptoms.

·         Children with impressive intelligence or splinter skills:  Quite an autistic child’s are very bright or have surprising skills that are far beyond their years. For example, some children with autism can solve difficult puzzles, read at a very young age, or show impressive music, math, or computer skills. When this is the case, their parents and teachers may not notice that the same child who can solve complex math equations is unable to catch a ball or play imaginatively. They may also have advanced vocabularies in their areas of interest.

·         Children with empathetic siblings or peers: In some families and classrooms, empathetic siblings or peers can actually mask another child's with autism. These wonderful children will take it upon themselves to learn and understand their autistic peer and to speak for them. While this is an undoubtedly kind and caring, it's also a form of enabling that can make it hard to know what the autistic child really can do for him or herself.

·         Children of parents with autistic traits: It's not unusual for children with autism to have parents who are either diagnosable with high functioning of autism or who have so called "shadow" traits of autism. When this is the case, parents may see their autism children as developing typically or as being "chips off the old block." It can be especially hard for the parents to see their child labeled as autistic and easily apply to them as well.

What Parents Should Do

If you think your child has developmental delays and may be autistic, take an action immediately. Ask your general doctor to screen your child for delays, with a special emphasis on social cues, communication, and emotional skills.

If your perception was incorrect, you've lost nothing just an hour of time and a load of anxiety. If your child does indeed, and have developmental delays you have to take an action promptly and can expect to quickly access resources and programs that can help him or her to overcome any challenges.

If you have questions to ask about Best Autism Treatment Centre in Bangalore. Click on the topics below to find out more from the direct website of Capaar4autism.

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