The first signs of autism occur during the early infancy and the disorder is usually diagnosed by the age of three when parents are alarmed by the abnormal development of their child. Infants mostly develop normally until the age of 2 when the growth as well as the mental development rapidly regresses. The autistic symptoms vary from one patient to another, from mild to severe forms.



Between the first warning signs is the abnormal response to different stimuli like light or sound. Noises may appear painful to them, smells are overwhelmingly strong and touches are receipted as pains. Loud noises caused by vehicles or machines, and very bright lights from different sources, trigger crises and inconsolable crying.

The most specific behavior for the autistic patients is the indifference showed to the surroundings and the satisfaction of playing and being alone. They show no real interest in toys and are usually uninterested to interact with others, characteristics called in the medical specialty as protodeclarative pointing. The activity level varies from an increase to reduction and autistic children resist cuddling.

Autistic patients laugh, cry or are feeling distressed for unapparent reasons and cannot express their needs using the actual language. The use different gesture instead of words to express their wishes, as the impaired language development is obvious.

Patients with high functioning autism manage to develop certain rudimentary communication skills but these cannot really serve for an actual social interaction. Some words or phrases are used repetitively (echolalia) and their patterns of speech lack expression or intonation.

Usually these patients want to be alone and show no interest to other people's presence. Resisting changes in their routine or repeating an action over and over again is a part of their daily behavior. Autistic patients tend to flap their arms or turn in circles repetitively and with unknown meaning. In severe distress periods they engage in self-injurious actions like biting or scratching themselves, banging their heads.

Warning signs in small children are their reject for cuddling or touching, often behavioral outbursts, inexplicable attachment to some objects and the radical ignorance to many others. Autistic persons cannot maintain an actual eye-contact, they do not fear danger and show an under sensitivity towards pain. Most of these children prove an abnormal sustained play combined with uneven motor skills.

In spite of all the efforts of parents and teachers, autistic children do not respond to normal teaching methods and verbal clues. They may give the impression of being deaf in spite of their normally developed hearing sense.

Signs and symptoms of autism increase the level of severity during the teenage years but seem to decrease during adulthood.

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