Children do develop at different rates.  Any parent who has had even a casual conversation with other parents on the playground knows that some children develop different skills at different ages.  Perhaps your toddler is working gross motor skills and can throw a ball but doesn’t make much more than scribbles on paper.  On the other hand…there are some children who are exceedingly verbal at an early age and seem to be behind in their language acquisition and use.  Comparing children can be dangerous because no two are alike and parents can get confused or worried by engaging in a compare and contrast with other parents. Because of these differences, there are guidelines that have been put in place for measurement of “normal childhood development for birth through age 5″.  These guidelines are merely benchmarks though and not hard and fast rules.  Parents should familiarize themselves with these  in order to determine if their child is lacking in certain areas and then bring their concerns to the attention of their child’s pediatrician. 

What if your pediatrician tells you that children just develop differently and that some are slower than others?  This may very well be the case as pediatricians have a vast range of experience and have pretty much “seen it all” and therefore can be expected to be reliable in their assessment of your child.  However, there may be more to it than a simple “he’ll catch up”.  If you ever feel like there is more going on….act quickly and always be your child’s number one advocate!  Even though it can be difficult to question your doctors advice and recommendations, you as a parent must trust your instincts.  You know your child better than anyone and know how he or she behaves on a daily basis and are therefore the ultimate expert! In the case of developmental delays, including autism, early and appropriate intervention can make a world of difference and sometimes this starts with you…don’t be affraid to push for additional testing, referrals or a second opinion.

Twin and family studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism.  Identical twin studies show that if one twin is affected, there is up to a 90 percent chance the other twin will be affected.  There are a number of studies in progress to determine the specific genetic factors associated with the development of ASD.  In families with one child with ASD, the risk of having a second child with the disorder is approximately 5 percent, or one in 20.  This is greater than the risk for the general population.  Researchers are looking for clues about which genes contribute to this increased susceptibility.  In some cases, parents and other relatives of a child with ASD show mild impairments in social and communicative skills or engage in repetitive behaviors.  Evidence also suggests that some emotional disorders, such as bipolar disorder, occur more frequently than average in the families of people with ASD.

ASD varies widely in severity and symptoms and may go unrecognized, especially in mildly affected children or when it is masked by more debilitating handicaps.  Very early indicators that require evaluation by an expert include:

The hallmark feature of ASD is impaired social interaction.  As early as infancy, a baby with ASD may be unresponsive to people or focus intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time.  A child with ASD may appear to develop normally and then withdraw and become indifferent to social engagement.Children with an ASD may fail to respond to their names and often avoid eye contact with other people.  They have difficulty interpreting what others are thinking or feeling because they can’t understand social cues, such as tone of voice or facial expressions, and don’t watch other people’s faces for clues about appropriate behavior.  They lack empathy.  Many children with an ASD engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or in self-abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging.  They also tend to start speaking later than other children and may refer to themselves by name instead of “I” or “me.”  Children with an ASD don’t know how to play interactively with other children.  Some speak in a sing-song voice about a narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the person to whom they are speaking.Children with characteristics of an ASD may have co-occurring conditions, including Fragile X syndrome (which causes mental retardation), tuberous sclerosis, epileptic seizures, Tourette syndrome, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorder.  About 20 to 30 percent of children with an ASD develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood.