Autism Symptoms Checklist - What to Look for when Checking for Autism
  Gust Lenglet

Autism is a mental disorder that has been found in just a few
isolated cases quite a while ago. Nowadays, autism has gained
somewhat "popularity" (in a manner of speaking) especially since
more and more individuals seem to suffer from it. As a parent, it
is almost imperative to see whether your child is suffering from
autism because the sooner you spot and treat it, the better your
child will be. The first thing you have to know is that this
disorder begins either at birth (when it is rather hard to spot
it) or within the next one or two years. You should not be fooled
by the fact that your child seems perfectly healthy and normal,
because the disease acts only at a neurological level. If your
child has a tendency towards puzzling and weird behaviors then
you might consider this fact, and check your idea with a
qualified physician.

The main problem about autism is that you cannot simply look at a
symptoms list and say whether your child is or is not suffering
from that disorder. Since it is a neurological disease, some or
even all of the main symptoms may not check out at all, and your
child can still be suffering from autism. However, you should
check several symptoms before proceeding with any other tests.
These main symptoms are:

 * Eye-to-eye contact - Usually children suffering from autism
avoid any type of eye-to-eye contact, however they have the
tendency of staring at one object for a long time. A fixed look
in one direction may be a tip.

 * Interest in things - Normal children tend to bring objects to
their parents' attention to find out more about them. Pointing at
them is another thing they usually do. Children suffering from
autism have almost no interest at all in objects and they do not
point towards objects.

 * Deafness - Children suffering from autism may give everybody
around them the feeling that they are deaf because they tend to
ignore any verbal or visual advices. For example, they do not
even answer when their name is called.

 * Communication - Aside from eye to eye contact, children
suffering from autism develop almost no social skills and they do
not interact with children of their own age. In some cases, they
do not even interact with their own parents.

 * Lack of smile - If the child seem like he is always unhappy or
simply never smiles you might get a hint on what's wrong with
them. Autistic children do not react to stimuli such as smiling
or laughing.