Therapist shares top five most common early-on signs of autism in toddlers

An expert has shared the top five most common signs of autism that he has seen in young children and toddlers.

Conor McDonagh, owner and director of Caerus Therapies, is a specialist occupational therapist and frequently shares his expertise on his TikTok account.

These tips include the likes of sensory processing problems as well as how to support an autistic child in the best ways, reports Wales Online.

Conor has recently shared a video that details his top five signs of autism in toddlers. The video is captioned: "My experience on some of the most obvious signs of autism in toddlers."

Conor specifies that he is talking about children aged 12 to 36 months in this video as he said: "It should be noted that typically we don't assess children until they're four years of age, so my perspective is coming from parents reporting back to when their children were this age."

Top five most common signs of autism in toddlers

1. Sensory processing difficulties

Conor explained: "The first most obvious sign from my perspective is when children have sensory processing difficulties. They react very strongly to loud and sudden sounds or clothes feel, for example."

2. Repetitive movements

The expert added: "The second most obvious sign is when children have repetitive movements, so they can flap their hands repetitively or they rock back and forth repetitively."

3. Delayed speech

Conor also said: "The third most obvious sign is when a child has delayed speech. So typically we would expect a child to start using their first words at approximately eight months, and then start putting words together by 24 months."

4. Lack of interest in other children

The expert noted: "The fourth most obvious sign is when a child doesn’t show much of an interest in other kids, so they don’t seek out to play with other kids, they’d rather play alone."

5. Difficulties with communication

And finally, Conor said: "The fifth most obvious sign of autism from my point of view is when children have difficulties with communicating, so that’s using gestures like nodding to indicate yes or shaking their head to indicate no."

What does the NHS say on autism in toddlers?

According to the NHS, signs of autism in young children include:

• not responding to their name
• avoiding eye contact
• not smiling when you smile at them
• getting very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound
• repetitive movements, such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers or rocking their body
• not talking as much as other children
• not doing as much pretend play
• repeating the same phrases

The National Autistic Society also noted that the characteristics of autism varies from one person to the next, with some people seeing issues arise in early childhood. Children can be diagnosed as autistic when they’re quite young, in some cases from the age of two.

However, not everyone is diagnosed that early on and it is rather common for a child to not be diagnosed until they are older - potentially even an adult - particularly if they don’t have accompanying learning disabilities.

The National Autistic Society says some of the main signs that a child may be on the autism spectrum include:

• not drawing their parents’ or others’ attention to objects or events, for example not pointing at a toy or a book, or at something that is happening nearby (or a child may eventually do this, but later than expected)

• carrying out activities in a repetitive way, for example always playing the same game in the same way, or repeatedly lining toys up in a particular order

• resistance to change or doing things differently

• emerging difficulties with social interaction and social communication

• behaviour such as biting, pinching, kicking, pica (putting inedible items in the mouth), or self-injurious behaviour

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