Every parent wants their child to have good health, a bright future and a prosperous life. However, there may come a moment in time when it hits you that your 3-year-old is still not responding to you. You may also notice that your child is not as interactive as other children are. This may lead you to wonder if your child is autistic.

While you may have heard about autism, there are some things that must be established. First of all, you need to know that autism is not something that is contagious. Instead, autism is actually a condition where your child's brain has developed differently, thus resulting in certain ramifications that affect your child's system and manifests itself in the lack of interpersonal skills.

One in every 700 children is autistic. These are mainly boys though. The signs of autism manifest themselves at an early stage in the life of a child. Therefore you must be cautious of the behavior and responses of your child starting at the age of 18 months, which is when autism can first be detected. If your child is having problems with any of the following things, you should talk to your pediatrician:

1. Is your child able to look directly into your eyes whenever you are talking to him?

2. Does your child either avoid or automatically shy away from other children?

3. Is your child unable to handle imaginary games?

4. Does your child need you to repeatedly say a specific word in order for him to be able to understand it?

5. Does your child have mannerisms or motor movements that he keeps repeating for no apparent reason or purpose?

6. Does he resist change?

7. Does he become alarmed whenever you change your routine?

8. Does your child like to wake up whenever it is still dark outside?

If you have a baby, it is possible for him to already be manifesting the following signs of autism:

1. Does your baby refuse to look into your eyes?

2. Would your baby prefer to stare at moving mechanical objects instead of looking at you?

3. Is your baby able to lie for hours without crying?

4. Does your baby not want to play with or interact with other babies?

Unfortunately nobody knows what causes autism. Therefore, you should not blame yourself, feel as though you have been negligent or think that it is something that happened during pregnancy. You should also know that there is no definite treatment for autism either. However, you definitely need to address the problem. The best way in which to do this is by consulting an expert in this field.

Of course, you probably have heard that you will also need to stick to a definite lifestyle in order to adjust to the needs of your child. This is going to require some extra patience on your part though. If you are unable to do this, then you will need to send your child to a special education school.

Above all, you always need to remember that you child is special because his abilities are different from other children their age. Therefore, you should always be willing to provide your child with special treatment and care. Take time to give him your attention and stay by his side. In this way you can make your child feel loved, which is the most important thing of all.