Being the first born and only grandchild, everyone in the family is so fond of C. His parents have big dreams for him.
As he was growing, he was like any other child until he reached 10 months of age. He seemed not to look at people, nor responding to his name anymore. When someone tries to play with him, asking him to do "flying kiss", "close open", he did not mind as if no one was playing with him.
At 18 months, C was not saying any words yet. He was still incapable of doing communicative gestures like waving bye-bye or pointing.
By age 2, C had no vocabulary and still babbling like a 6 month old. He was hyperactive- running around aimlessly, mesmerized by spinning objects like the blades of the electric fan. His mother noticed all these alarming behavioral manifestations, but clinged to the common belief that boys develop later than girls. And that C will soon catch up.
The early behavioral manifestations of Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) may show at 12 months of age but valid screening can be obtained when child reaches 16 months of age.[1].
According to First Signs , the very early indicators, the so called RED FLAGS of Autism include:
1. failure to elicit social smile and other joyful expressions by 6 months of age and thereafter
2. no back and forth sharing of sounds and smiles by 9 months of age and thereafter
3. no babbling by 12 months
4. no gesturing (pointing, waving bye-bye) by 12 months
5. does not say single words by 16 months
6. does not say 2 word spontaneous phrases by 24 months (not just echoing)
7. losing language or social skills at any age
