My mom told me I always played alone and did not interact normally with others and I often had meltdowns when engaging in group play which made them call my mother on her job. My doctor suspected I had ASD due to my lack of understanding how to play socially. I think many kids who show these behaviors are not autistic but rather have their own way of communicating and their own ideas of fun.
The people commenting saying this video is providing misinformation.. my son behaved EXACTLY like the autistic children in this video at that age and I had the same ignorant mindset as those commenting like it’s perfectly fine to act like that. I kept saying ‘Maybe he’s an introvert’, ‘maybe he’s just independent and wants to be left alone’, ‘he does things his own way’, ‘he seems normal to me’. I ended up taking him out of the nursery he was in as they began to suspect something was wrong and began the process of diagnosis. I was in denial. A few years later he’d gotten worse. Then at 4 I finally accepted the help from his school and low and behold my son was diagnosed with ASD by the NHS. Now at 6 he still does all these things, but it’s even more pronounced, he’s having an extremely hard time and I can’t help but think if things would of been easier if I was more open to trying to understand what was happening earlier. Parents who suspect your child is doing some of the things your seeing in the video, seek professional help do not be ignorant, ignore the comments saying this behaviour is normal, be safe rather than sorry.
This video was very informative. My son is ASD. He is 11 yo. When he was 18 months to 2 yo he was very similar to some in the video. It became completely obvious at 3 and was diagnosed by 3 seperate medical specialists. Some critisize the video, but I feel it is accurate.
I know a woman whos son is autistic hes 25 like me. He always smiled and played around as a kid didnt talk til he was 5. Autism is not the same in each person. I was like that didnt smile much didnt interact with my mom much. Didnt talk til 4 say small words thats all. Every kid is affected differently.
Autism can delay speech, but not always. And sometimes children without autism have delays. At such a young age, it's not always accurate. I started talking on time, so it took my parents longer to get me tested for autism.
they dont have problem making eye contact. they do however have problems MAINTAINING eye contact as it is considered an assault to the senses/displaying too much information for them.
This is relevant. As someone who has 2+ kids with varying degrees of ASD and the oldest being 16 and youngest 9. I'm a firm believer in better to be safe than sorry. If it turns out you have a child with ASD and you caught it early the outcome is more successful than the latter. It becomes extremely difficult the longer they go undiagnosed. And if it turns out your child isn't then that's great at least you didn't leave it to chance or assumed he may be 'introverted'.
I hate it when people automatically assume that people with autism are "unaffectionate" or "in their own world" just because they don't make eye contact or like hugs. Those things can be physically painful for us. There are plenty of other ways to show affection and make a social connection that don't involve touching someone or staring them in the eye. Autistic people are more aware and affection then people think, we just express it in different ways
These are legit points for children with ASD although every child is different and children with ASD can have different traits in relation to behavioural activity
That depends on the level of his severity. I have Asperger's, a mild form of autism and went through mainstream school all the way through university, but some children have a lower ability to connect with and understand the demands and desires of others, and more sensory and informational processing difficulties, which would make learning in a mainstream school difficult. The only way to know what your child is capable of is to see how he does in mainstream education.
I suspected my daughter was autistic before she was one, and everyone told me I was crazy. they continued to write me off until she was three. she was 4 and a half by the time we were able to get her into therapy. She is almost 6, non verbal, and moderately autistic. The earlier you can get into therapy, the better off your child will be. If you believe something is off, get a second opinion when someone says "it's too soon"
Marieomaire : regarding pretend play -- early pretending lets us know that the child is beginning to develop symbolic thinking, where one thing can stand for another. When they (for example) push a block around and make car noises, the image of a car is in the child's mind even though they are seeing and handling a block. Language is also symbolic. Words are symbols that stand for concepts in the child's mind or memory. Early pretend play and early meaningful language emerge at the same time, because they are both contingent on the development of symbolic thinking. If a child is late to develop pretend play, it may mean that they lack a solid basis in symbolic thinking upon which to build language skills. That helps us understand why a child is not picking up language, and design treatment to meet the child where he is rather than frustrate him with demands for speech which he cannot yet do.
Even though my son already has been diagnosed and is improving on eye contact n talking through achievements program.... I can see if I had known about all the early signs id know much earlier to take him to Kki n get diagnosis . This is a great video. When it comes to ASD Kki is truly the best. Iv waited a year to get in on the program.... he is 4 now...and after only 3 months my son went from non verbal to actually saying things to me and sharing and hugging.... and this is just the beginning... thank you Kennedy Krieger inst.
+ewelina lisiewska could you please message me. I'd like to talk to you more about this. My daughter is also 4 and she was just diagnosed yesterday. I've been a mess and crying, getting angry etc. I knew something was up bc there is very minimal eye contact with my daughter. i'll talk to you more in my messages. thanks :)
Very helpful information, thank you! I have a grandson who is developing slowly, but the doctor is reluctant to do much. He is taking the "wait and see" approach, which is highly frustrating! After seeing this, I have a better idea of what to look for and what may be going on. I think a second opinion would be in order. Again, thank you!
I don't know about every state/area, But in many states they won't even try to diagnose any asd until a certain age. They won't officially diagnose until age 7 in Oklahoma. I think that's good and bad. It's good bc no child needs an incorrect "label", but bad bc it can mean early intervention does not happen. I wondered, and still do, if my nephew has some disorder. He's socially awkward, and at 4 has stated to really be affected by it. But him being an only child within his immediate family and the only little child in our extended family, a certain amt of "not playing well with others" is to be expected. (He's also never been in daycare or school yet). When he IS around other kids, he gets along with some and not others. He has always clicked with older children and had difficulties with kids his age or younger. Might all be completely normal and a result of his environment. But he hyper focused on certain toys, is loud himself but covers his ears or gets upset at other loud noises (some, not all), and has from the age of 2 cried and had a meltdown at every birthday party when "Happy Birthday" is sung by everyone in the room. It's so hard to tell. And so hard to communicate EVERY SINGLE THING to a doctor. Especially when they quit listening halfway thru a convo.
Jennifer Herzog I agree with you. You get 15 minutes if you're lucky at the doctor's office to tell them as much as you can. Most of the time they aren't listening to anything you're saying. I find that certain doctors will ask you the same question 4 times because they never listened to the answer.
MY SON WAS A HAPPY BABY AT 6 MONTHS OLD, HE WAS LOVABLE AND STARTED TO SAY HIS FIRST WORD DADDY .I LOVED IT SO MUCH TO HERE THOSE WORDS . I LOVED IT SO MUCH THE ATTENTION I GOT FROM MY SON,BUT THEN SOMETHING STARTED TO CHANGE. HE STOPPED TALKING THEN SLOWLY HE STARTED TO REGRESS .GO INTO HIS OWN LITTLE WORLD.AND NOT TALK AT ALL. WOULD NOT SHOW NO AFFECTION OR SMILE.I TOOK HIM TO THE DOCTOR AND THEY DIAGNOSED HIM AS AUTISTIC .
Some kids are just stubborn, mine responds to name only when he wants to and he will share if he wants to... It's weird that sometimes he is in great mood and will do whatever asked and share and communicate ... Other times... He doesn't want to share or talk ...
I know the purpose of this video is to raise awareness so that parents can seek for early intervention but I have seen so many cases were parents chose to trust professionals and forgot about understanding and advocating for their children. "Normal" children do not have to be typical. it is okay for a child to be internal, to take his/her time with the experiences offered to him/her, it is fine if a child is not too social, there is a norm we need to contest.
Thank you for this. This video has been so much more helpful to me than checklists or videos of specific symptoms in isolation. You explained really well what differentiated the ASD from normal development.
they. just told me today my grandson might have autism it made me feel sad I saw a lot of videos of little kids with it and them learning to read and skills it made me feel good inside that there is hope I thank you all for sharing videos together we can fight this for all. thanks
Last child came off to me as independent instead this video makes him seem as if he has a disorder because he was focused and tried to figure out the figure and how it worked on his own instead of asking for help.
i have Autism Spectrum disorder (no joke i actually got diagnosed as a baby by my doctor) it is not fun at all i have close to no friends and those few friends easily leave me due to me being too "self-centered" or they say i ignore them too much.. people gossip about me loudly and make fun of me... i wish i could just tell them i have this disorder but i can't get myself to do so 😢
Nyangurlcraft EPIC Thank you :) But as i said i just cannot get myself to say i have Autism Spectrum Disorder to people as one of he symptoms is also to care about what others think of you and i am already different and even if i could get myself to tell them they will probably not believe mr :(
Yeah Dude I Totally Feel What You're Through. I Am Diagnosed With The Exact Same Thing And My Mum Says That I See Things Differently To Other People. Like My Emotions, Apparently Being Annoying, Doing Weird Uniqe Actions And Thinking Different. To Me It's One Of Those Disabilities Where You Know That U Are Disabled But You Feel Normal.
Yes, but imitation and imaginative play are not the same thing. Echolalia is very common in autistics; they repeat words and phrases spoken by others with perfect diction and tone, but have no idea what they're saying; to them it's all noise. A child with ASD could appear to be having a richly detailed imaginary conversation on a phone when in fact all he is doing is repeating an actual phone call he heard someone else make with no attempt at altering it with imagination.
Some people here may not agree with the obvious signs of autism and delay in motor skills. If you suspect that your child may have autism, it is best to have him/her diagnosed.
There is one key issue that needs to be addressed. These signs are not just about autism. My 5 year-old fits every sign, but she is NOT autistic. She has a rare chromosome disorder. She also has a brain disorder. It is videos like the one that keep my daughter at 1 of 22 in the world. When people see this, it's automatic to begin testing for autism, without any thought of chromosome or brain disorders. Give signs for developmental delays and offer all potential possibilities, not just autism.
This video does show some of the early signs of ASD, but it could do so in a way that is not so horribly patronising to autistic people. For example, it talks about autistic kids not engaging in "meaningful and purposeful play". Meaningful and purposeful to who exactly? The play autistic children engage in is meaningful to them. Just because you don't understand its relevance doesn't mean it's not a valid form of play. Similarly, assuming that an autistic child "does not make a social connection" with their mother because they don't use eye contact is very potentially false. Furthermore, focusing on social and communications skills as the primary "deficit" in autistic people is to possibly overplay this aspect while ignoring many of the other issues they may have, such as sensory processing problems, which may in fact underlie some of their communication issues. Communication is a two way street, and this video assumes it's the children are failing to communicate. Sometimes, it's the adults who are failing to listen. Autistic people may need help fitting in to this neuroptypical world, but using the language of "deficit", assuming their behaviour has a lack of purpose or meaning, and dwelling on a perceived failure of communication (rather than, say our failure to understand them), only serves to continue the myth of autistic as "less than". Autistic people deserve our respect, not pity. With the right help, especially early in life, many autistic people make contributions to society neurotypicals wouldn't even dream of. We need them, so please don't patronise them. They deserve better than this video.
I agree with this comment, I am autistic and I remember playing with my nintendo consoles, playstation one and my plush toys by myself I was just very happy and content with it and it was meaningful to ME. Different is NOT a bad thing, but this video unfortunately seems to show otherwise or at least heavily imply it.
I have a 22 month old child I think she may be Autistic, It so hard for her understand simple instruction she don't communicate her needs to me instead she wines. She knows a lot of words though. She yells like someone is killing her when she is told no or has to go night night she throws tantrums so bad I am afraid that one day she may bust her head open!! I cannot take her in public without her screaming or whining and she will walk up to any child and try to hug and kiss them then get mad and upset when told no and I have to end up dragging her kicking and screaming. she had a thing where she will take her poop and eat it or smear it everywhere this happens at least once or twice a day or every other day, it make raising her so stressful I feel I am going to lose!! It I cannot get her to eat anything she is so picky. She destroys her toys and eats her books and will lick and put all sorts of things in her mouth. she will run about as if she doesn't hear a thing I say, I thought it was a regular toddler just acting out but I feel as if this is more she has already been in therapy for showing a 20% delay in both social and physical development but due to finical reasoning sessions had to be stopped Also as a baby she didn't babble or coo much and barley smiled.
Children are easier to diagnose because they all develop in certain ways. But there are few ways to develop meaning if your child isn't on the right track there may be something wrong
+shinzantetsu The point I feel is this: ASD is not just another label for shyness/introversion. The point of diagnosing children having ASD traits is to secure early intervention---we're not talking about medication but hands-on teaching of both parent and child to communicate more effectively. If it turns out that the child does not have an ASD then this intervention has no ill effects; but if the child in fact has a form of autism, early intervention can dramatically improve everyone's lives. The alternative is to do nothing and hope things improve, which can a does happen. However, if you are like me and your 22-month-old hasn't uttered one recognizable word and shows other ASD traits, then seeking professional help is the responsible and reasonable thing to do.
MustafaPresents im 31 and just found out like 2 years ago i have aspie traits,also my executive function has a deficit.Dont know how i fell through the cracks.I had no intervention.
+Ryan Trollin No, it's just different. It's kind of hard to describe, but I guess if you interact with these kids, or teenagers, you'll spot the difference. A person who is simply shy is just perhaps afraid to speak out for whatever reasons.
Do they take into account siblings and parenting skills of parents? Half of this might be caused by not wanting help, not wanting to share, worrying that the stuff will be taken away, or people misunderstand you so why bother etc.
A toddler doesn't have the language to say: "I'll be right back with you, I am busy right now". Also, it is observed that he is "not sharing". Do we really expect that from a toddler? sharing as a sign of social interaction depends on the personality of each child. child#1 seemed more social, unaffraid of "sharing". The other looked more engaged, not interested in "sharing" more internal experiences which is totally okay. The video to me shows a very strong one dimensional view.
i agree. professionals should also be screening for chromosomal disorders as well as pushing families at risk for the disorders to get tested themselves.
Normal lives with difficulties looking for career opportunities. Probably still living at home with their parents and don't have enough a whole lot of things going on with their lives.
I do have Autism called Aspergers Syndrome. I wasn't diagnosed until as an Adult. So ,I suffered with all of those several wasted years . I struggled unsuccessfully from Elementary through High School . I was also socially awkward , reclusive and extremely fearful going to School. I only have Grade 9 education. I've been out of school for thirty years , still living at home with my parents . I work for FEDEX as a part time Driver and still single. Not compared to my other co - Drivers . Who are married with Families. Two of my co - Drivers whose wives are both School Teachers. Both of them who I'm reluctant to talk to. I'm confused , anxious and frustrated. Having an Anxiety going out with my Parents I don't even know which group to who and where I belong to. Didn't even know from the past that this is going to be my Fate. This is how Asperger's sufferers live with their lives. Amen !
My eldest daughter Gracie aged 11 has ASD didn't even know she had it adhd so as her sister Lacey 9 years old it's hard work but well worth it both have help at school .there in a special secondary school and living life to full even both love school but Gracie is moving to St wilfrieds high school Where will continue to have help .
Yes because responding to one's name and understanding the gesture of a pointed finger, as well as having the social motivation to follow the finger to the source of the other person's attention are all skills that require an understanding of body language, and an innate instinctive interest in other people and their thoughts and feelings, which children with ASDs do not exhibit. To them, people are more like functional objects.
As a mother of a autistic kid the comments here are disturbing... Are ASD kids suppose to Not look "normal" its like a person saying someone can't have a terminal illness because they "Look normal" ....Ugh I'm saddened that my baby will be judged by the likes of ppl like the ones who commented here smh please educate yourselves on Autism before making statements like these
Refi68, for years i didn't realize i was not answering like always looking at myself doing nothing and saying thi.gs in my mind. Your son may feel like that too.i always wonder how asd kids are just in another dimension so to speak and being able to speak what's going on inside may seem impossible to explain or describe and physically there's the neuro issue keeping thatfrom happening
I don't like this one bit. Those children are not autistic they may just have different personalities. Yes, they may benefit from therapy to help them socialize better. Really though? "The child is not looking at his mother when getting tickled." Tickling is a reflex, and it kind of leaves a person out of control. I don't think a kid will just stare at someone who is tickling. When I was a kid I would squirm and try to get away from the tickler. Then there is the test with the bubbles... "The boy is not looking at the person blowing bubbles." Ok yeah maybe that's because he rather look at the bubbles float that is way more interesting than some guy blowing bubbles. A kid focused on a phone who cares kids are obsessed with that stuff, and he doesn't want to be bothered. I really hope this is not used for diagnosing children because I can see a lot of over diagnoses happening with this criteria. Why diagnose a child that young anyways. I'll stop there I'm done.
These typical asd markers arent intended to diagnose by themselves- an asd diagnosis requires a far more intensive battery of testing! These markers and indeed the entire video are only meant to serve as a screening tool, and educational frontline for a vastly deep and complex disorder. Clearly, as you have just demonstrated, the need for education is great and continues.
I'm not a professional, but I am pretty positive one CANNOT diagnose autism at 14 months. That is just ridiculous. From what I've read, seen and experienced over the years of being a mom and meeting lots and lots of various kids, it isn't until at least 2 years of age when one can start wondering if 'something' really might be going on. Children do very often develop very differently - definitely past the first year of life. Even during the first year of life there are absolutely normal differences (some crawl at 5 months, other at 10 and it's all perfectly fine, for example).
The videos are useful for parents and people involved in rehab with autism children and therapists especially psychotherapists to identify ..early and to suggest intervention . The videos are very lucid . Prof G Rajamohan PhD Professor of Psychology Chennai TN
At foureen months most children only have a vocabulary of one or two words, so none of them would be speaking at this point, neurotypical or not. If they were two, and the ASD children were not speaking at a developmental point at which they should have acquired at least 50 words, that would be an added cause for concern.
when do these symptoms show up? I have a three month old who rarely smiles and never looks me in the eyes. she doesn't respond to me trying to get her attention. is this normal or could it be an early sign of autism?
Considering the fact that Autism and related disorders are brain disorders from abnormal brain chemistry/biology I think it's perfectly legitimate to explore Autism as a possibility. Any educated professional knows that would test for the other possibilities too.
The sharing exhibited by the neurotypical children was not a learned social grace, it was an instinctual attempt at gaining the attention of the people around them and engaging them in their play; people are more interesting than objects to NT children, so they will incorporate them into their games, not because they know "sharing is polite" but because they enjoy it. ASD children are more interested in objects than in people, and the instinct to engage and share with others is not present.
I bet none of my parents or grandparents who had 10-15 children even cared to remember all their names let alone diagnose their social behaviors .. And everyone turned out just fine. Are these advances in technology really making us superior or making us extremely cautious to thinking of anything other than perfect ( which is someone else idea) . Things do not always turn out as you expect them but you needn't classify them if they don't follow protocol. Patience and love can FIX quite a few things. You are building robots this way and not humans. Reminds me of the movie 'Demolition Man' by Silvester Stallone. What I think is, if a kid has compassion to do whatever he likes to do, he has a potential to do greater things. Nothing else matters....
+Rickie B There was a lot less substance abuse in mothers years ago. I believe most of this we are seeing today is FAS or FASD which is brain damage caused by pregnant women drinking . I have never seen so many abusers of this.
Thats why i wrote that the red flags are lack of social communication (ie not looking at faces to share) rather than lack of speech. We agree with each other.....
I am very disappointed that this video is posted under the guise of providing helpful information. All of the children's actions that were presented fall within normal range of development.This video shows evidence of a movement towards a very narrow idea of what is normal and the ever increasing efforts of doctors to label and categorize children. All of the children that were presented as having autistic spectrum behaviors were boys. There has been much research showing how young boys are easily labeled as having ASD because they may develop socially more slowly than female children. There was no mention of possibilities that personality or even mood could affect how these children socially interact with others. ASD should not be diagnosed until a child is 9-10 years old because there are so many factors that go into diagnosis. Really this video is just sensationalism meant to play on the fear of parents and to perpetuate narrow ideas of normality in children.
I see many faults in this video, way so many. Yes, children in the spectrum will show, PERSISTENTLY characteristics like this but so is a regular kid. lets not forget that a neurotypical child functions also within a spectrum and an educator as well as a parent need to be aware of it. For example in the first video, toddler #2 is seen playing with a phone. when his name is called he doesn't respond. can we say simply that he is focused on how the phone operates? cont. (part1/2)
aweee my youngest child is exactly like Elliot! wake up Ashley... is this genetic? I think my other two may be on the spectrum. just a little different from Elliot! I was diagnosed with Asperges years ago.
My dad is the same. He has become a very shrewd judge of character as, over the years, he has studied human behaviour intensely in order to understand cause and effect of emotions he cant naturally interpret.
Lisa braxton So you're telling me other countries are doing this now? I suppose I can totally see Britain and Australia doing this since their culture is slowly deteriorating and becoming like the U.S.
Arthur Manson They're already diagnosing children and treating them like some kind of oddity when they are still a child. They've already labeled and branded them just because they are not behaving exactly like they think they should. Everyone is different and just because a child isn't doing or acting exactly how and what they perceive "normal" to be, they start labeling them as autistic. Stop trying to label and brand the child and just love it and stop trying to diagnose it.
But he didn't try to do it on his own; once he saw that he couldn't do it, he started to cry. A neurotypical independent child would attempt to do it by himself, find that he couldn't, and then illicit help from someone else, or keep trying; he would not give it one half-hearted attempt and then cry because he knows he has other options, whereas to the ASD child, if he can't do it then there is nothing to be done and the toy won't get wound up.
Well, looking at this video, no wonder Institutions such as AAP have hands full of work. Honestly? Taking into consideration that every kid is different and develop in its own pace, I would be just simply cautious to put this video online. Someone mentioned it is better to start treatment even if it is not necessary rather than doing nothing. I disagree and say this is necessary to start the treatment when treatment is necessary. In order to know that this is necessary you need to find someone who will put proper diagnosis - and this is the biggest issue. Sometimes it is also good to have faith in your own child .
Perhaps this video is intended to be a guide for parents who are thinking of seeking specialist advice. From what I have read, early treatment yields greater returns.
This is so completely riven with misinformation from a biased source. The person presenting the topic has an interest in finding subjects to be classified as ASD as it brings her organisation more money. Secondly there is no reference to any evidence based medicine studies of sufficient standing and rigor to validate claims made here. It is equally valid to say the so called *asd* children show better concentration, independence, insight and discovery as well as self awareness. The children asking for help, show lack of self confidence, insight, basic motor skills, are easily distracted, have failed to develop filtering skills for low value information such as pointing at a butterfly on the wall versus a new object, nor can they tell a "fake" request to look at something versus actual information of high value. What this video labels a "neuro typical" means behavior that they think is normative. A loaded word with misinformation. A better word would be behavior we can try an make money from you by putting a psuedo scientific name on it.
I don't know...that's a skill that my 12 year old son has still not displayed...he has still to pick up a phone and say "hello".....it seems like that little boy has been paying attention to the world around him well enough to pretend to answer the phone....or at the very least, it's an indication that he will be on the high end of the spectrum
Can anyone explain to me this western obsession on pretend play?! I never did it because it seemed mean to me, now my son doesn't and here it seemed to be "autism sign" while in Russia I finished high school earlier and got PhD at 23 and never been told that I'm "autistic". Here the only thing that kids are taught to is pretend and that's the only thing they do as they grow up as adults. Sick.
THis is NOT a holistic way to look for autism in children. All of them seem normal to me. And I hate how they portrayed ASD in boys only. What about girls?
To automatically put that first 19 month old in the category that he might have early signs of autism is irresponsible! I, honestly, did not see too much wrong with him and his behavior. He's 19 months!!!! Let the little boy live normally for a few years before putting a label on him!
Tom Incanada yeah well when i was just starting school my school thought i had a mild form of autism but that was not the case it was because all of the other kids where bullying me i was later then labeled add its not right to automatically put a label on a child all sorts of things need to be ruled out first
not through with the video, yet, but the beginning @ :48 clearly says "this 19-month old child does NOT show signs of ASD.." so im not sure what Lily Sophia's beef is..?
Misinformation.why don't more people connect the dots that autism is being cause by many different factors and some forms could even be healed. The signs are too indicative of so many different personality types. We are in an age where personality can be diagnosed as disease. Alternative thinking is seen as illness. Seeing vids like this frustrates me. I see that you think its helpful but its not:-(
have a few questions for anyone that wants to answer. My therapist (which I first must say, it literally the best therapist in the whole entire world. No other "professional" has come anywhere close to unraveling the complicated, challenging, unknown mess that is me) the other day she threw out the idea that I could have had (maybe still do) some sort of autism spectrum. That is the first time I have heard anything like that in my entire life. Never have I even considered that I could possibly have some form of autism. I have been reading about it and researching it as she suggested. To be honest, most of the stuff doesn't really ring too much of a bell. Some stuff sounds a lot like me though. QUESTION #1 I have a really far back memory to when I was at least 9 month (don't believe if you don't want) and I never remember having any issue with eye contact or face contact or whatever, would that mean I'm def. not on the spectrum? QUESTION#2 I had selective mutism (something very rare, please don't answer this unless you really know a lot about it) I know a lot of autistic children don't speak but this only has to do with anxiety (not a spectrum thing) I have read that you can't have that and be on the spectrum, is that true? Also is it common to have both? Not possible? QUESTION #3 I have always felt different from everyone else in the world. I've never even had a reason that I felt different. Just somehow felt that I was set apart from everyone else and I wasn't the same. Thoughts? As of right now, I feel that I am either not on the spectrum or have a very extremely mild case because I don't relate to much of the stuff I've read
Your therapist might be on to something, not because any one of the three pieces you mention but because of how the three may go together with other traits the therapist noticed. 1) The selective mutism can arise for lots of reasons, from anxiety, trauma, or control, to a desire to sit back and study people before deciding to speak (the latter being a little more like ASD). 2) The really far back memory is more likely to be related to autism if it's most clear as visual memory, because that part of the brain is not affected by autism the same way other parts are. 3) Feeling different can happen for a lot of reasons, only one of which is related to autism, but here's one way to tell if you find the opportunity online or at school:. If you chat with other people with autism (look for people who identify as "Asperger's" to make sure you are chatting with people of average or above average intelligence and language skills), and find that suddenly they think the same things are ridiculous about "normal" social interaction or are frustrated by the same kinds of situations (loud simultaneous conversations, vague instructions from teachers, or other social behaviors or sensory experience), then it may be that you are different from MOST people, not different from everyone. The models for studying autism are based too much on studies of boys. The young women I have worked with on the autism spectrum, especially ages 10-28, often have fine eye contact, and are much more driven (either biologically or socioculturally) to learn about social interaction than boys on the autism spectrum, which makes them seem more neurotypical and pick up more social skills, but the way they learn them is still like the boys on the spectrum: they are more likely to practice facial expressions in a mirror than to naturally develop facial expressions when mirroring other people. Hope this helps. I have a few thoughts on autism on a blog called "Autism Spectra" but I haven't posted in a while. I write about autism on Quora too, you'll find lots of comments from people with autism/Asperger's there, but no live chat; sorry, I don't have a suggestion about how to find people to chat with but maybe you could at least watch some videos of young women with Asperger's and see if you identify with any of them. Meanwhile, keep working with that great therapist!!! I would love to know who that is, especially if it's someone in Ohio or NJ or Michigan.
RonitIL since I actually agree with you on this, I am disappointed to hear you insulting me. My point was about people who identify themselves as having Asperger's, which by the old diagnostic manual was defined as having the exact same symptoms as Autistic Disorder but without language delay and with average or above average intelligence. I like the new diagnostic criteria better, because they acknowledge that people with the thinking and social style of autism can have all levels of intelligence, from very low and nonverbal to very high intelligence. Is this still a load of crap? It's what I said, but hopefully this time I came across more clearly. And even if you still hate my words on this issue of intelligence, even though I think we agree, hopefully you can resist the temptation to say that the whole "load" of my words is crap, when most of it was focused on trying to be helpful to someone and most had nothing to do with intelligence.
+Laura Faith 1. If your therapist is 'literally the best therapist in the whole entire world' because reasons... then you are not autistic, AND they are because you let them be (and I will guess - because they validate what you wish to have validated)! 2. 'I could have had (maybe still do) some sort of autism spectrum' - No, youngling, you do not have and then not have autism - impossible, inconceivable, preposterous! autism is a neuro-developmental condition that is PERVASIVE - i.e. unless you had a full brain and nerve transplant you were never autistic! 3. She suggested you do the research, and that didn't ring a bell?!?! "Go on now and see if you can't convince yourself, for me." And, sorry, 'some stuff' will always ring true about any human condition when considered by any particular human, doesn't make it the case because 'some stuff sounds a lot like me'! Q1. Eye contact is not the sole deciding factor of autism diagnosis, it's a spectrum. Q2. Selective mutism. Selective mutism is a specific social response to a specific social situation, it can be voluntary and selective, or involuntary and subconciously displayed. There is no physical cause, being that it is a mental selection usually made in response to stress or fear. It is curable with therapy, and will often disappear with age. Though not mutually exclusive of autism it requires higher social functioning at an early developmental age, which precludes one from the other in most cases. Autistic shutdown, is not a sign of Selective Mutism, as the brain in the autistic is mute as a result of processing issues not stress or fear. Autistic Mutism is not a sign of Selective Mutism because the mute autistic is so because of neuro-developnmental or nerve connection issues - not by selection in response to stress or fear. Answer your question?!?! Q3. Part A. Everyone feels different from everyone else, you do not have any condition that can't be explained by the fact that you are not a part of a hive mind! Part B. If you have read the material and it doesn't fit, THEN YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER!
+James Foley *My point was about people who identify themselves as having Asperger's, which by the old diagnostic manual* Not in the DSM-I, II, III, IIIR, V So you mean the one that tried to be so all inclusive and at the same time so sub-group exclusive that litrally anybody could be diagnosed on a bad day, that one, the DSM-IV. *I like the new diagnostic criteria better* Excellent, do you also accept that diagnosing children under 10 years of age is counter productive (as was the case when I was diagnosed under the DSM-III)?
My mom told me I always played alone and did not interact normally with others and I often had meltdowns when engaging in group play which made them call my mother on her job. My doctor suspected I had ASD due to my lack of understanding how to play socially. I think many kids who show these behaviors are not autistic but rather have their own way of communicating and their own ideas of fun.
The people commenting saying this video is providing misinformation.. my son behaved EXACTLY like the autistic children in this video at that age and I had the same ignorant mindset as those commenting like it’s perfectly fine to act like that. I kept saying ‘Maybe he’s an introvert’, ‘maybe he’s just independent and wants to be left alone’, ‘he does things his own way’, ‘he seems normal to me’. I ended up taking him out of the nursery he was in as they began to suspect something was wrong and began the process of diagnosis. I was in denial. A few years later he’d gotten worse. Then at 4 I finally accepted the help from his school and low and behold my son was diagnosed with ASD by the NHS. Now at 6 he still does all these things, but it’s even more pronounced, he’s having an extremely hard time and I can’t help but think if things would of been easier if I was more open to trying to understand what was happening earlier. Parents who suspect your child is doing some of the things your seeing in the video, seek professional help do not be ignorant, ignore the comments saying this behaviour is normal, be safe rather than sorry.
This video was very informative. My son is ASD. He is 11 yo. When he was 18 months to 2 yo he was very similar to some in the video. It became completely obvious at 3 and was diagnosed by 3 seperate medical specialists. Some critisize the video, but I feel it is accurate.
I know a woman whos son is autistic hes 25 like me. He always smiled and played around as a kid didnt talk til he was 5. Autism is not the same in each person. I was like that didnt smile much didnt interact with my mom much. Didnt talk til 4 say small words thats all. Every kid is affected differently.
Autism can delay speech, but not always. And sometimes children without autism have delays. At such a young age, it's not always accurate. I started talking on time, so it took my parents longer to get me tested for autism.
they dont have problem making eye contact. they do however have problems MAINTAINING eye contact as it is considered an assault to the senses/displaying too much information for them.
he doesn't share enjoyment, but he DOES place the phone by his ear and say "hello"...pretty good imitation skill...
her voice is calming
This is relevant. As someone who has 2+ kids with varying degrees of ASD and the oldest being 16 and youngest 9. I'm a firm believer in better to be safe than sorry. If it turns out you have a child with ASD and you caught it early the outcome is more successful than the latter. It becomes extremely difficult the longer they go undiagnosed. And if it turns out your child isn't then that's great at least you didn't leave it to chance or assumed he may be 'introverted'.
I help kid with autism and also have autism
I hate it when people automatically assume that people with autism are "unaffectionate" or "in their own world" just because they don't make eye contact or like hugs. Those things can be physically painful for us. There are plenty of other ways to show affection and make a social connection that don't involve touching someone or staring them in the eye. Autistic people are more aware and affection then people think, we just express it in different ways
These are legit points for children with ASD although every child is different and children with ASD can have different traits in relation to behavioural activity
That depends on the level of his severity. I have Asperger's, a mild form of autism and went through mainstream school all the way through university, but some children have a lower ability to connect with and understand the demands and desires of others, and more sensory and informational processing difficulties, which would make learning in a mainstream school difficult. The only way to know what your child is capable of is to see how he does in mainstream education.
I suspected my daughter was autistic before she was one, and everyone told me I was crazy. they continued to write me off until she was three. she was 4 and a half by the time we were able to get her into therapy. She is almost 6, non verbal, and moderately autistic. The earlier you can get into therapy, the better off your child will be. If you believe something is off, get a second opinion when someone says "it's too soon"
Marieomaire : regarding pretend play -- early pretending lets us know that the child is beginning to develop symbolic thinking, where one thing can stand for another. When they (for example) push a block around and make car noises, the image of a car is in the child's mind even though they are seeing and handling a block. Language is also symbolic. Words are symbols that stand for concepts in the child's mind or memory. Early pretend play and early meaningful language emerge at the same time, because they are both contingent on the development of symbolic thinking. If a child is late to develop pretend play, it may mean that they lack a solid basis in symbolic thinking upon which to build language skills. That helps us understand why a child is not picking up language, and design treatment to meet the child where he is rather than frustrate him with demands for speech which he cannot yet do.
Even though my son already has been diagnosed and is improving on eye contact n talking through achievements program.... I can see if I had known about all the early signs id know much earlier to take him to Kki n get diagnosis . This is a great video. When it comes to ASD Kki is truly the best. Iv waited a year to get in on the program.... he is 4 now...and after only 3 months my son went from non verbal to actually saying things to me and sharing and hugging.... and this is just the beginning... thank you Kennedy Krieger inst.
+ewelina lisiewska could you please message me. I'd like to talk to you more about this. My daughter is also 4 and she was just diagnosed yesterday. I've been a mess and crying, getting angry etc. I knew something was up bc there is very minimal eye contact with my daughter. i'll talk to you more in my messages.
thanks :)
Very helpful information, thank you! I have a grandson who is developing slowly, but the doctor is reluctant to do much. He is taking the "wait and see" approach, which is highly frustrating! After seeing this, I have a better idea of what to look for and what may be going on. I think a second opinion would be in order. Again, thank you!
I don't know about every state/area, But in many states they won't even try to diagnose any asd until a certain age. They won't officially diagnose until age 7 in Oklahoma. I think that's good and bad. It's good bc no child needs an incorrect "label", but bad bc it can mean early intervention does not happen. I wondered, and still do, if my nephew has some disorder. He's socially awkward, and at 4 has stated to really be affected by it. But him being an only child within his immediate family and the only little child in our extended family, a certain amt of "not playing well with others" is to be expected. (He's also never been in daycare or school yet). When he IS around other kids, he gets along with some and not others. He has always clicked with older children and had difficulties with kids his age or younger. Might all be completely normal and a result of his environment. But he hyper focused on certain toys, is loud himself but covers his ears or gets upset at other loud noises (some, not all), and has from the age of 2 cried and had a meltdown at every birthday party when "Happy Birthday" is sung by everyone in the room. It's so hard to tell. And so hard to communicate EVERY SINGLE THING to a doctor. Especially when they quit listening halfway thru a convo.
Jennifer Herzog I agree with you. You get 15 minutes if you're lucky at the doctor's office to tell them as much as you can. Most of the time they aren't listening to anything you're saying. I find that certain doctors will ask you the same question 4 times because they never listened to the answer.
MY SON WAS A HAPPY BABY AT 6 MONTHS OLD, HE WAS LOVABLE AND STARTED TO SAY HIS FIRST WORD DADDY .I LOVED IT SO MUCH TO HERE THOSE WORDS . I LOVED IT SO MUCH THE ATTENTION I GOT FROM MY SON,BUT THEN SOMETHING STARTED TO CHANGE. HE STOPPED TALKING THEN SLOWLY HE STARTED TO REGRESS .GO INTO HIS OWN LITTLE WORLD.AND NOT TALK AT ALL. WOULD NOT SHOW NO AFFECTION OR SMILE.I TOOK HIM TO THE DOCTOR AND THEY DIAGNOSED HIM AS AUTISTIC .
This hits close to home im actually crying
Some kids are just stubborn, mine responds to name only when he wants to and he will share if he wants to... It's weird that sometimes he is in great mood and will do whatever asked and share and communicate ... Other times... He doesn't want to share or talk ...
I know the purpose of this video is to raise awareness so that parents can seek for early intervention but I have seen so many cases were parents chose to trust professionals and forgot about understanding and advocating for their children. "Normal" children do not have to be typical. it is okay for a child to be internal, to take his/her time with the experiences offered to him/her, it is fine if a child is not too social, there is a norm we need to contest.
Thank you for this. This video has been so much more helpful to me than checklists or videos of specific symptoms in isolation. You explained really well what differentiated the ASD from normal development.
they. just told me today my grandson might have autism it made me feel sad I saw a lot of videos of little kids with it and them learning to read and skills it made me feel good inside that there is hope I thank you all for sharing videos together we can fight this for all. thanks
This should be on AIR for a TV series that tells parents how to spot autism.
I really want to learn autism I want too be a kindergarten teacher helping little kids that got autism.
Last child came off to me as independent instead this video makes him seem as if he has a disorder because he was focused and tried to figure out the figure and how it worked on his own instead of asking for help.
i have Autism Spectrum disorder (no joke i actually got diagnosed as a baby by my doctor)
it is not fun at all i have close to no friends and those few friends easily leave me due to me being too "self-centered" or they say i ignore them too much.. people gossip about me loudly and make fun of me... i wish i could just tell them i have this disorder but i can't get myself to do so 😢
Nyangurlcraft EPIC
Thank you :) But as i said i just cannot get myself to say i have Autism Spectrum Disorder to people as one of he symptoms is also to care about what others think of you and i am already different and even if i could get myself to tell them they will probably not believe mr :(
the* me*
+Jj lim I feel you
Yeah Dude I Totally Feel What You're Through. I Am Diagnosed With The Exact Same Thing And My Mum Says That I See Things Differently To Other People. Like My Emotions, Apparently Being Annoying, Doing Weird Uniqe Actions And Thinking Different. To Me It's One Of Those Disabilities Where You Know That U Are Disabled But You Feel Normal.
You will be ok!! :-)
when my son was really young he flapped his hands with excitement at bubbles too. he's now 2 1/2 and doesn't do that.
This really puts things into perspective for my husband and I.
Yes, but imitation and imaginative play are not the same thing. Echolalia is very common in autistics; they repeat words and phrases spoken by others with perfect diction and tone, but have no idea what they're saying; to them it's all noise. A child with ASD could appear to be having a richly detailed imaginary conversation on a phone when in fact all he is doing is repeating an actual phone call he heard someone else make with no attempt at altering it with imagination.
I wish we knew more when my nephew was showing signs a about 7 months. he's now 14 and has social and anger issues.
Some people here may not agree with the obvious signs of autism and delay in motor skills. If you suspect that your child may have autism, it is best to have him/her diagnosed.
i did have severe Autsm until i was 5 but now im on spectrum Autsm I'm completely normal
There is one key issue that needs to be addressed. These signs are not just about autism. My 5 year-old fits every sign, but she is NOT autistic. She has a rare chromosome disorder. She also has a brain disorder. It is videos like the one that keep my daughter at 1 of 22 in the world. When people see this, it's automatic to begin testing for autism, without any thought of chromosome or brain disorders. Give signs for developmental delays and offer all potential possibilities, not just autism.
This video does show some of the early signs of ASD, but it could do so in a way that is not so horribly patronising to autistic people. For example, it talks about autistic kids not engaging in "meaningful and purposeful play". Meaningful and purposeful to who exactly? The play autistic children engage in is meaningful to them. Just because you don't understand its relevance doesn't mean it's not a valid form of play. Similarly, assuming that an autistic child "does not make a social connection" with their mother because they don't use eye contact is very potentially false. Furthermore, focusing on social and communications skills as the primary "deficit" in autistic people is to possibly overplay this aspect while ignoring many of the other issues they may have, such as sensory processing problems, which may in fact underlie some of their communication issues. Communication is a two way street, and this video assumes it's the children are failing to communicate. Sometimes, it's the adults who are failing to listen. Autistic people may need help fitting in to this neuroptypical world, but using the language of "deficit", assuming their behaviour has a lack of purpose or meaning, and dwelling on a perceived failure of communication (rather than, say our failure to understand them), only serves to continue the myth of autistic as "less than". Autistic people deserve our respect, not pity. With the right help, especially early in life, many autistic people make contributions to society neurotypicals wouldn't even dream of. We need them, so please don't patronise them. They deserve better than this video.
I agree with this comment, I am autistic and I remember playing with my nintendo consoles, playstation one and my plush toys by myself I was just very happy and content with it and it was meaningful to ME. Different is NOT a bad thing, but this video unfortunately seems to show otherwise or at least heavily imply it.
Drogon Anyone may have autistic trait.
+Derek Cronin ,Very good points....
I have a 22 month old child I think she may be Autistic, It so hard for her understand simple instruction she don't communicate her needs to me instead she wines. She knows a lot of words though. She yells like someone is killing her when she is told no or has to go night night she throws tantrums so bad I am afraid that one day she may bust her head open!! I cannot take her in public without her screaming or whining and she will walk up to any child and try to hug and kiss them then get mad and upset when told no and I have to end up dragging her kicking and screaming. she had a thing where she will take her poop and eat it or smear it everywhere this happens at least once or twice a day or every other day, it make raising her so stressful I feel I am going to lose!! It I cannot get her to eat anything she is so picky. She destroys her toys and eats her books and will lick and put all sorts of things in her mouth. she will run about as if she doesn't hear a thing I say, I thought it was a regular toddler just acting out but I feel as if this is more she has already been in therapy for showing a 20% delay in both social and physical development but due to finical reasoning sessions had to be stopped Also as a baby she didn't babble or coo much and barley smiled.
What if the child is just really introverted? Pisses me off that everyone has to be this social butterfly to come across as normal.
***** oh so clever.
Children are easier to diagnose because they all develop in certain ways. But there are few ways to develop meaning if your child isn't on the right track there may be something wrong
+shinzantetsu The point I feel is this: ASD is not just another label for shyness/introversion. The point of diagnosing children having ASD traits is to secure early intervention---we're not talking about medication but hands-on teaching of both parent and child to communicate more effectively. If it turns out that the child does not have an ASD then this intervention has no ill effects; but if the child in fact has a form of autism, early intervention can dramatically improve everyone's lives. The alternative is to do nothing and hope things improve, which can a does happen. However, if you are like me and your 22-month-old hasn't uttered one recognizable word and shows other ASD traits, then seeking professional help is the responsible and reasonable thing to do.
MustafaPresents im 31 and just found out like 2 years ago i have aspie traits,also my executive function has a deficit.Dont know how i fell through the cracks.I had no intervention.
+shinzantetsu Exacly im not social i was like this as a child but now im normal
What if theyre just shy
+Ryan Trollin
No, it's just different. It's kind of hard to describe, but I guess if you interact with these kids, or teenagers, you'll spot the difference. A person who is simply shy is just perhaps afraid to speak out for whatever reasons.
Thanks for taking the time to reply to everybody :-)
Video shows various situations of ASD. Clear description(s) of situations with ASD. :)
Do they take into account siblings and parenting skills of parents? Half of this might be caused by not wanting help, not wanting to share, worrying that the stuff will be taken away, or people misunderstand you so why bother etc.
Excellent vid! Very informative.
what if the parents are constantly on their phones and not paying any attention to him? he's just acting like everyone else.
A toddler doesn't have the language to say: "I'll be right back with you, I am busy right now". Also, it is observed that he is "not sharing". Do we really expect that from a toddler? sharing as a sign of social interaction depends on the personality of each child. child#1 seemed more social, unaffraid of "sharing". The other looked more engaged, not interested in "sharing" more internal experiences which is totally okay.
The video to me shows a very strong one dimensional view.
i agree. professionals should also be screening for chromosomal disorders as well as pushing families at risk for the disorders to get tested themselves.
What happens to them when their Adults ? ? ?
Normal lives with difficulties looking for career opportunities. Probably still living at home with their parents and don't have enough a whole lot of things going on with their lives.
I do have Autism called Aspergers Syndrome. I wasn't diagnosed until as an Adult. So ,I suffered with all of those several wasted years . I struggled unsuccessfully from Elementary through High School . I was also socially awkward , reclusive and extremely fearful going to School. I only have Grade 9 education. I've been out of school for thirty years , still living at home with my parents . I work for FEDEX as a part time Driver and still single. Not compared to my other co - Drivers . Who are married with Families. Two of my co - Drivers whose wives are both School Teachers. Both of them who I'm reluctant to talk to. I'm confused , anxious and frustrated. Having an Anxiety going out with my Parents I don't even know which group to who and where I belong to. Didn't even know from the past that this is going to be my Fate. This is how Asperger's sufferers live with their lives. Amen !
My eldest daughter Gracie aged 11 has ASD didn't even know she had it adhd so as her sister Lacey 9 years old it's hard work but well worth it both have help at school .there in a special secondary school and living life to full even both love school but Gracie is moving to St wilfrieds high school Where will continue to have help .
This is very helpful. Captions would be beneficial.
The information which given through this video is very useful to parents. Its a great service.
thank you for this video, it has been very helpful. could you do a video about ASD in 5-6 year olds, normal vs ASD?
Yes because responding to one's name and understanding the gesture of a pointed finger, as well as having the social motivation to follow the finger to the source of the other person's attention are all skills that require an understanding of body language, and an innate instinctive interest in other people and their thoughts and feelings, which children with ASDs do not exhibit. To them, people are more like functional objects.
As a mother of a autistic kid the comments here are disturbing... Are ASD kids suppose to Not look "normal"
its like a person saying someone can't have a terminal illness because they "Look normal" ....Ugh I'm saddened that my baby will be judged by the likes of ppl like the ones who commented here smh
please educate yourselves on Autism before making statements like these
My 14 month son responds to his name, shares excitement, points but does hand flapping and such. What does it mean?
I'm autistic
Make a video on the early signs of depression in teens.
Refi68, for years i didn't realize i was not answering like always looking at myself doing nothing and saying thi.gs in my mind. Your son may feel like that too.i always wonder how asd kids are just in another dimension so to speak and being able to speak what's going on inside may seem impossible to explain or describe and physically there's the neuro issue keeping thatfrom happening
I don't like this one bit. Those children are not autistic they may just have different personalities. Yes, they may benefit from therapy to help them socialize better. Really though? "The child is not looking at his mother when getting tickled." Tickling is a reflex, and it kind of leaves a person out of control. I don't think a kid will just stare at someone who is tickling. When I was a kid I would squirm and try to get away from the tickler. Then there is the test with the bubbles... "The boy is not looking at the person blowing bubbles." Ok yeah maybe that's because he rather look at the bubbles float that is way more interesting than some guy blowing bubbles. A kid focused on a phone who cares kids are obsessed with that stuff, and he doesn't want to be bothered. I really hope this is not used for diagnosing children because I can see a lot of over diagnoses happening with this criteria. Why diagnose a child that young anyways. I'll stop there I'm done.
These typical asd markers arent intended to diagnose by themselves- an asd diagnosis requires a far more intensive battery of testing! These markers and indeed the entire video are only meant to serve as a screening tool, and educational frontline for a vastly deep and complex disorder. Clearly, as you have just demonstrated, the need for education is great and continues.
this is so sad i think my son has autism im very upset =(
I'm not a professional, but I am pretty positive one CANNOT diagnose autism at 14 months. That is just ridiculous. From what I've read, seen and experienced over the years of being a mom and meeting lots and lots of various kids, it isn't until at least 2 years of age when one can start wondering if 'something' really might be going on. Children do very often develop very differently - definitely past the first year of life. Even during the first year of life there are absolutely normal differences (some crawl at 5 months, other at 10 and it's all perfectly fine, for example).
Not sure about these experts maybe these kids prefer their own company - there are adults like that, maybe they are just going to be more independent.
They just mimic parents - so maybe their parents should be tested! Isn't this like 95% of adults today?
I think that all the children considered at risk here raise red flags because of lack of social communication not because the are not speaking.
The videos are useful for parents and people involved in rehab with autism children and therapists especially psychotherapists to identify ..early and to suggest intervention .
The videos are very lucid .
Prof G Rajamohan PhD
Professor of Psychology
Chennai TN
Agreed!
At foureen months most children only have a vocabulary of one or two words, so none of them would be speaking at this point, neurotypical or not. If they were two, and the ASD children were not speaking at a developmental point at which they should have acquired at least 50 words, that would be an added cause for concern.
when do these symptoms show up? I have a three month old who rarely smiles and never looks me in the eyes. she doesn't respond to me trying to get her attention. is this normal or could it be an early sign of autism?
Thank you for providing this video.
Considering the fact that Autism and related disorders are brain disorders from abnormal brain chemistry/biology I think it's perfectly legitimate to explore Autism as a possibility. Any educated professional knows that would test for the other possibilities too.
This video is very nice. i got a lot information through this video. Can I make this video as reference material for me? :)
Great resource. Thanks for posting!
what is autism before did not understand now I know understand what it is what is autism
The sharing exhibited by the neurotypical children was not a learned social grace, it was an instinctual attempt at gaining the attention of the people around them and engaging them in their play; people are more interesting than objects to NT children, so they will incorporate them into their games, not because they know "sharing is polite" but because they enjoy it. ASD children are more interested in objects than in people, and the instinct to engage and share with others is not present.
I bet none of my parents or grandparents who had 10-15 children even cared to remember all their names let alone diagnose their social behaviors .. And everyone turned out just fine. Are these advances in technology really making us superior or making us extremely cautious to thinking of anything other than perfect ( which is someone else idea) . Things do not always turn out as you expect them but you needn't classify them if they don't follow protocol. Patience and love can FIX quite a few things. You are building robots this way and not humans. Reminds me of the movie 'Demolition Man' by Silvester Stallone. What I think is, if a kid has compassion to do whatever he likes to do, he has a potential to do greater things. Nothing else matters....
+Rickie B There was a lot less substance abuse in mothers years ago. I believe most of this we are seeing today is FAS or FASD which is brain damage caused by pregnant women drinking . I have never seen so many abusers of this.
I think these children were too young to diagnose yet.
+Ulani Charles think the same!
literally me
i make plenty of friends always interactive
Same
My almost two years old son has some signs of ASD, he is delay speech, so I was wondering if he can go to a regular school? ?
great and helpful video
Thats why i wrote that the red flags are lack of social communication (ie not looking at faces to share) rather than lack of speech. We agree with each other.....
5:40 was filmed on 4/20 blaze it
I am very disappointed that this video is posted under the guise of providing helpful information. All of the children's actions that were presented fall within normal range of development.This video shows evidence of a movement towards a very narrow idea of what is normal and the ever increasing efforts of doctors to label and categorize children. All of the children that were presented as having autistic spectrum behaviors were boys. There has been much research showing how young boys are easily labeled as having ASD because they may develop socially more slowly than female children. There was no mention of possibilities that personality or even mood could affect how these children socially interact with others. ASD should not be diagnosed until a child is 9-10 years old because there are so many factors that go into diagnosis.
Really this video is just sensationalism meant to play on the fear of parents and to perpetuate narrow ideas of normality in children.
+mawshabocemb
PRECISELY, good call!
Couldn't some of these kids just be introverted?
True
I see many faults in this video, way so many. Yes, children in the spectrum will show, PERSISTENTLY characteristics like this but so is a regular kid. lets not forget that a neurotypical child functions also within a spectrum and an educator as well as a parent need to be aware of it. For example in the first video, toddler #2 is seen playing with a phone. when his name is called he doesn't respond. can we say simply that he is focused on how the phone operates? cont. (part1/2)
aweee my youngest child is exactly like Elliot! wake up Ashley... is this genetic? I think my other two may be on the spectrum. just a little different from Elliot! I was diagnosed with Asperges years ago.
iam autistic but just a mild autism
o
its also called high functioning autism two of my friends have it
My dad is the same. He has become a very shrewd judge of character as, over the years, he has studied human behaviour intensely in order to understand cause and effect of emotions he cant naturally interpret.
Only in America do they do this to a child.
Idiot.
Lisa braxton So you're telling me other countries are doing this now? I suppose I can totally see Britain and Australia doing this since their culture is slowly deteriorating and becoming like the U.S.
I see your confused with society
Jets NFL I see you're confused with "your" and "you're."
Arthur Manson They're already diagnosing children and treating them like some kind of oddity when they are still a child. They've already labeled and branded them just because they are not behaving exactly like they think they should. Everyone is different and just because a child isn't doing or acting exactly how and what they perceive "normal" to be, they start labeling them as autistic. Stop trying to label and brand the child and just love it and stop trying to diagnose it.
Superb!
But he didn't try to do it on his own; once he saw that he couldn't do it, he started to cry. A neurotypical independent child would attempt to do it by himself, find that he couldn't, and then illicit help from someone else, or keep trying; he would not give it one half-hearted attempt and then cry because he knows he has other options, whereas to the ASD child, if he can't do it then there is nothing to be done and the toy won't get wound up.
Well, looking at this video, no wonder Institutions such as AAP have hands full of work. Honestly? Taking into consideration that every kid is different and develop in its own pace, I would be just simply cautious to put this video online. Someone mentioned it is better to start treatment even if it is not necessary rather than doing nothing. I disagree and say this is necessary to start the treatment when treatment is necessary. In order to know that this is necessary you need to find someone who will put proper diagnosis - and this is the biggest issue. Sometimes it is also good to have faith in your own child .
Perhaps this video is intended to be a guide for parents who are thinking of seeking specialist advice. From what I have read, early treatment yields greater returns.
This is so completely riven with misinformation from a biased source. The person presenting the topic has an interest in finding subjects to be classified as ASD as it brings her organisation more money. Secondly there is no reference to any evidence based medicine studies of sufficient standing and rigor to validate claims made here. It is equally valid to say the so called *asd* children show better concentration, independence, insight and discovery as well as self awareness. The children asking for help, show lack of self confidence, insight, basic motor skills, are easily distracted, have failed to develop filtering skills for low value information such as pointing at a butterfly on the wall versus a new object, nor can they tell a "fake" request to look at something versus actual information of high value. What this video labels a "neuro typical" means behavior that they think is normative. A loaded word with misinformation. A better word would be behavior we can try an make money from you by putting a psuedo scientific name on it.
I don't know...that's a skill that my 12 year old son has still not displayed...he has still to pick up a phone and say "hello".....it seems like that little boy has been paying attention to the world around him well enough to pretend to answer the phone....or at the very least, it's an indication that he will be on the high end of the spectrum
Just let him be a baby jeeez.he has only been around for 14months.pretty good 😊 I would love ❤ my baby all the same.
Can anyone explain to me this western obsession on pretend play?! I never did it because it seemed mean to me, now my son doesn't and here it seemed to be "autism sign" while in Russia I finished high school earlier and got PhD at 23 and never been told that I'm "autistic". Here the only thing that kids are taught to is pretend and that's the only thing they do as they grow up as adults. Sick.
THis is NOT a holistic way to look for autism in children. All of them seem normal to me. And I hate how they portrayed ASD in boys only. What about girls?
I know ASD is different for a lot of people
To automatically put that first 19 month old in the category that he might have early signs of autism is irresponsible! I, honestly, did not see too much wrong with him and his behavior.
He's 19 months!!!! Let the little boy live normally for a few years before putting a label on him!
The irresponsible thing to do is ignore ASD behavior in a young child because early treatment improves outcomes, often dramatically.
Tom Incanada yeah well when i was just starting school my school thought i had a mild form of autism but that was not the case it was because all of the other kids where bullying me i was later then labeled add its not right to automatically put a label on a child all sorts of things need to be ruled out first
What exactly do you think is the harm of suspecting ASD in a small child?
not through with the video, yet, but the beginning @ :48 clearly says "this 19-month old child does NOT show signs of ASD.." so im not sure what Lily Sophia's beef is..?
You are obviously not fully reading my context. There were two 19 month old babies. The second one they labeled as having early signs of ASD
Misinformation.why don't more people connect the dots that autism is being cause by many different factors and some forms could even be healed. The signs are too indicative of so many different personality types. We are in an age where personality can be diagnosed as disease. Alternative thinking is seen as illness. Seeing vids like this frustrates me. I see that you think its helpful but its not:-(
I AGREE lilly
have a few questions for anyone that wants to answer. My therapist (which I first must say, it literally the best therapist in the whole entire world. No other "professional" has come anywhere close to unraveling the complicated, challenging, unknown mess that is me) the other day she threw out the idea that I could have had (maybe still do) some sort of autism spectrum. That is the first time I have heard anything like that in my entire life. Never have I even considered that I could possibly have some form of autism. I have been reading about it and researching it as she suggested. To be honest, most of the stuff doesn't really ring too much of a bell. Some stuff sounds a lot like me though.
QUESTION #1 I have a really far back memory to when I was at least 9 month (don't believe if you don't want) and I never remember having any issue with eye contact or face contact or whatever, would that mean I'm def. not on the spectrum?
QUESTION#2 I had selective mutism (something very rare, please don't answer this unless you really know a lot about it) I know a lot of autistic children don't speak but this only has to do with anxiety (not a spectrum thing) I have read that you can't have that and be on the spectrum, is that true? Also is it common to have both? Not possible?
QUESTION #3 I have always felt different from everyone else in the world. I've never even had a reason that I felt different. Just somehow felt that I was set apart from everyone else and I wasn't the same. Thoughts? As of right now, I feel that I am either not on the spectrum or have a very extremely mild case because I don't relate to much of the stuff I've read
Your therapist might be on to something, not because any one of the three pieces you mention but because of how the three may go together with other traits the therapist noticed.
1) The selective mutism can arise for lots of reasons, from anxiety, trauma, or control, to a desire to sit back and study people before deciding to speak (the latter being a little more like ASD).
2) The really far back memory is more likely to be related to autism if it's most clear as visual memory, because that part of the brain is not affected by autism the same way other parts are.
3) Feeling different can happen for a lot of reasons, only one of which is related to autism, but here's one way to tell if you find the opportunity online or at school:. If you chat with other people with autism (look for people who identify as "Asperger's" to make sure you are chatting with people of average or above average intelligence and language skills), and find that suddenly they think the same things are ridiculous about "normal" social interaction or are frustrated by the same kinds of situations (loud simultaneous conversations, vague instructions from teachers, or other social behaviors or sensory experience), then it may be that you are different from MOST people, not different from everyone.
The models for studying autism are based too much on studies of boys. The young women I have worked with on the autism spectrum, especially ages 10-28, often have fine eye contact, and are much more driven (either biologically or socioculturally) to learn about social interaction than boys on the autism spectrum, which makes them seem more neurotypical and pick up more social skills, but the way they learn them is still like the boys on the spectrum: they are more likely to practice facial expressions in a mirror than to naturally develop facial expressions when mirroring other people.
Hope this helps. I have a few thoughts on autism on a blog called "Autism Spectra" but I haven't posted in a while. I write about autism on Quora too, you'll find lots of comments from people with autism/Asperger's there, but no live chat; sorry, I don't have a suggestion about how to find people to chat with but maybe you could at least watch some videos of young women with Asperger's and see if you identify with any of them. Meanwhile, keep working with that great therapist!!! I would love to know who that is, especially if it's someone in Ohio or NJ or Michigan.
James Foley Whats a load of crap. What does intelligence and autism have to do w/ one another?? People w/ autism could be very very intelligent.
RonitIL since I actually agree with you on this, I am disappointed to hear you insulting me. My point was about people who identify themselves as having Asperger's, which by the old diagnostic manual was defined as having the exact same symptoms as Autistic Disorder but without language delay and with average or above average intelligence. I like the new diagnostic criteria better, because they acknowledge that people with the thinking and social style of autism can have all levels of intelligence, from very low and nonverbal to very high intelligence.
Is this still a load of crap? It's what I said, but hopefully this time I came across more clearly. And even if you still hate my words on this issue of intelligence, even though I think we agree, hopefully you can resist the temptation to say that the whole "load" of my words is crap, when most of it was focused on trying to be helpful to someone and most had nothing to do with intelligence.
+Laura Faith
1. If your therapist is 'literally the best therapist in the whole entire world' because reasons... then you are not autistic, AND they are because you let them be (and I will guess - because they validate what you wish to have validated)!
2. 'I could have had (maybe still do) some sort of autism spectrum' - No, youngling, you do not have and then not have autism - impossible, inconceivable, preposterous! autism is a neuro-developmental condition that is PERVASIVE - i.e. unless you had a full brain and nerve transplant you were never autistic!
3. She suggested you do the research, and that didn't ring a bell?!?! "Go on now and see if you can't convince yourself, for me." And, sorry, 'some stuff' will always ring true about any human condition when considered by any particular human, doesn't make it the case because 'some stuff sounds a lot like me'!
Q1. Eye contact is not the sole deciding factor of autism diagnosis, it's a spectrum.
Q2. Selective mutism. Selective mutism is a specific social response to a specific social situation, it can be voluntary and selective, or involuntary and subconciously displayed. There is no physical cause, being that it is a mental selection usually made in response to stress or fear. It is curable with therapy, and will often disappear with age.
Though not mutually exclusive of autism it requires higher social functioning at an early developmental age, which precludes one from the other in most cases.
Autistic shutdown, is not a sign of Selective Mutism, as the brain in the autistic is mute as a result of processing issues not stress or fear. Autistic Mutism is not a sign of Selective Mutism because the mute autistic is so because of neuro-developnmental or nerve connection issues - not by selection in response to stress or fear.
Answer your question?!?!
Q3. Part A. Everyone feels different from everyone else, you do not have any condition that can't be explained by the fact that you are not a part of a hive mind!
Part B. If you have read the material and it doesn't fit, THEN YOU HAVE YOUR ANSWER!
+James Foley *My point was about people who identify themselves as having Asperger's, which by the old diagnostic manual*
Not in the DSM-I, II, III, IIIR, V
So you mean the one that tried to be so all inclusive and at the same time so sub-group exclusive that litrally anybody could be diagnosed on a bad day, that one, the DSM-IV.
*I like the new diagnostic criteria better*
Excellent, do you also accept that diagnosing children under 10 years of age is counter productive (as was the case when I was diagnosed under the DSM-III)?
Some boys develop slower then others boys sometimes develop slower the girls
When the child's bank account shows marked debt healing begins