Children with autism have difficulties in the three main areas called the 'triad of impairments'






Autism is a complex condition which can be difficult to diagnose, people with autism are usually said to be exceptionally good looking and do not appear to have a disability at first glance, this sometimes makes it difficult for people to understand their behaviour in public as they just see them as ‘naughty’. The characteristics of autism are generally noticeable from an early age.


We first noticed with Jack when he stopped answering to his name, although he appeared to have super sensitive hearing. He used to be so alert and interested in everything around him, he wanted to be with people and laugh and smile, during his first year Jack and I went to all the local play sessions, Tumble Tots, Jo Jingles, story time at Beech Hill and Shevington library, The Wiend play session and pram club where he would also see his health visitor, and I know all these people were as shocked as we were to see the change in Jack in such a short space of time.


The things he enjoyed doing before just didn’t interest him anymore it was like he had forgotten how to play. He started to become obsessive about certain things like reading the same book over again and watching the same part in his video, and were he would have always interacted well with the other children it was like they didn't exist anymore. In short he was a completely different child. He went from a happy sociable baby to withdrawn, and almost afraid of the world around him.

At first I thought Jack was maybe feeling ill after his needle and just didn’t want to do very much but as things didn’t improve I contacted the health visitor. They came out to observe Jack and then referred him to the Paediatrician. Jack had all the tests and observations and was diagnosed after six months with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.


As each person who is diagnosed with autism is so different each sign and symptom could range from one extreme to the other. I have tried to list some of the symptoms that are most common but this should not be taken as an exhausted list as each individual is special and unique!


v A need for routine and things to stay the same


v Show a lot of distress if the smallest detail has changed


v May be very sensitive to sounds, or may not appear to be listening, may hold his hands to his ears to block out sound


v May be very sensitive to touch and either avoid contact or feel the need to be held tightly


v May like to touch surfaces and feel textures sometimes mouthing objects, or may be over sensitive to different textures and even wearing clothes can be very uncomfortable


v May have a very good sense of smell


v May be very sensitive to different flavours of food and may have quite a restricted diet, such as they may only eat food that is crispy in texture, or a certain colour, the food may also have to be arranged a certain way on the plate


v Repeating actions over again such as hand flapping or spinning


v Will find it really hard to make friends and interact with others, may appear withdrawn


v May not respond to eye contact and will find eye contact really uncomfortable


v May treat people as though they are objects, for example pulling their hand or dragging them to get what they want


v May prefer to spend time alone


v Does not understand human emotions and may show no response to a person crying, shows a lack of empathy


v May have a heightened or low response to pain


v Prefers to play alone, will usually like repetitive play


v Will not show an interest in pretend play


v May have intense tantrums and it won’t always be obvious what has caused them


v May have a short attention span


v May not be able to talk at all


v May have some language but is not able to start or maintain a social conversation


v May repeat words or phrases without knowing what they mean


v May take what you say quite literally and phrases such as ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’ can be quite frightening


v Don’t understand sarcasm

v May like to line up objects, stack or sort things into piles and everything has to be just so

v Will show repetitive behaviours (stimming)