Autism Signs and Signals in Babies

The idea of autism is a scary topic for new moms. We’ve learned a lot about autism in the last 20 or 30 years, and we’re learning more all the time. But as a parent, you don’t need to get into the weeds about the research. You just want to know, is this something I need to worry about? Is this something that I’m seeing in my child? Dr. Darren Saks, a pediatrician with Tenafly Pediatrics in Northern New Jersey sheds light on the key developmental milestones that can help you understand your baby’s growth and whether there are signs of autism to be aware of.

Early Signs and Reassuring Developmental Milestones

Social Smiling and Eye Tracking

One of the first reassuring signs of healthy development is social smiling and eye tracking, expected around six to eight weeks of age. This early interaction, where your baby will respond to your smile by smiling back at you, It is your first sign that there’s a connection here – which is often absent or delayed in children with ASD.

Child Responds to Their Name

By eight to nine months, your child should start to get the sense of self, and that they start to know who they are and they respond to their name. That’s a great sign that your child is connecting to an environment in a way that a child with autism probably won’t. 

Imitation and Engagement

Right around one year mark, your child will start to imitate you. They start to clap when you clap. They start to wave when you wave and they look right at you. Most children with autism have a difficulty connecting to their parents or their social environment. So their gaze is a little bit off, we call that gaze aversion. If your child is staring into your soul and loving you, it’s unlikely that they’re exhibiting any traits of autism.

Pointing and Sharing Experiences

Pointing is one of the most important things that we will see – to really reassure you as your child is developing. And at about 15 to 18 months, they should want to share their experiences with you. The most clear way that a child or a toddler will do that is to point. And they’ll look at you. And that’s an incredible moment, so don’t take that for granted. That’s something you should cherish. This is my child seeing something interesting and asking me, “Did you see what I just saw?” And that should really be a reassuring part of your child’s development that autism is very unlikely.

Language Development and Communication

Most children who have autism have some challenges in developing their language. Or it develops in a less than typical way. If your child is starting to communicate right around 18 to 20 months with multiple words, contextually appropriate, trying to engage with you – that’s a reassuring part of development. We would feel very comfortable saying, your child doesn’t have any features of autism. 

Pediatricians, like those at Tenafly Pediatrics, screen with specific tools that will help reassure you early on. By the second year of life, most children will have had a diagnosis, if in fact that’s a concern. 

About Our Expert: Dr. Darren Saks, MD is a pediatrics specialist at Tenafly Pediatrics with over 26 years of experience in the medical field. He served as Attending Physician at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in the Emergency Department, and is currently an Attending Physician at Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Hackensack University Medical Center and The Valley Hospital. Dr. Saks enjoys spending time with his wife, a Special Education Teacher, and three children –  boy and girl twins, and a younger daughter. He has a special interest in helping families and communities understand the effects that media has on our children and society. Visit: tenaflypediatrics.com