Traits of Mild Autism in Adults and Children

Williams syndrome involves intellectual disability, an outgoing and friendly personality, strong auditory learning skills, and cardiovascular problems. They tend to have a large forehead, a small nose, full cheeks, and a wide mouth. Large ears and forehead, soft skin, and a long face are typical. Developmental delays, limited eye contact, anxiety, hand flapping, a helpful disposition, and impulsivity are common. Notice physical issues and differences that could cause autistic-like behavior. Children with physical difficulties and disabilities may be unable to express what is going on. A child who behaves unusually might be dealing with something else.Blind or visually impaired children may not make eye contact, and may struggle to interact with parents because they cannot see them.

Learning your child has a lifelongdevelopmental disabilityis difficult. Naturally, you as a parent, other caregivers, and extended family need to grieve about this. Unfortunately, communication struggles can make this harder. For example, an autistic person may not know what counts as “inappropriate” or how to help someone who is upset.Autistic people are at risk for bullying.

Autistic children may not reach the same developmental milestones as their peers, or they may demonstrate the loss of previously developed social or language skills. In addition to the communication and social issues mentioned above, autism also includes symptoms related to body movements and behaviors. As they interact with others, autistic children might have difficulty sharing their emotions and interests with others or find it hard to maintain back-and-forth conversation. Nonverbal communication, like maintaining eye contact or body language, might also remain difficult. As they age, they might have difficulty talking or very limited speaking skills.

Most autistic people also have Sensory Processing Disorder, in which some of their senses are over- or under-responsive. They might cover their ears when they hear a vacuum, pinch their nose at the smell of spice, or rub things because they love the texture.Autistic people can be both hyposensitive and hypersensitive to sensory input. An autistic person may love noise and have headphones on all day, but may not eat certain foods because of how they feel and taste.

Anxiety in Children and Teens

For example, children with autism often have thinner bones. Dairy products have nutrients that can make their bones stronger. Studies on a protein in milk products called casein have found that many children performed the same whether or not they ate foods with this protein. Their autism symptoms didn’t change in any remarkable way. Applied behavior analysis is a type of treatment that aims to promote positive behavior and discourage negative or harmful behavior. Some experts believe that ABA is a form of behavior control.

Mild Autism Traits in Children

He worked with infant welfare centres, school medical inspection officers and reformatory and industrial schools in order to do this (Evans et al., 2008). In the late 1920s, the Commonwealth Fund, an American philanthropic body, began to provide funds for the purposes of improving child guidance services in Britain .

Sometimes autistic people don’t receive a diagnosis until much later in life. This is due, in part, to a previous lack of awareness among medical practitioners.

Autism and exercise

Children with some symptoms of autism, but not enough to be diagnosed with the classical form of the disorder, are often diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified (PDD – NOS). The term Asperger syndrome is sometimes used to describe people with autistic behavior but well-developed language skills. Children who appear normal in their first several years, then lose skills and begin showing autistic behavior, may be diagnosed with childhood disintegrative disorder . Girls with Rett’s syndrome, a sex-linked genetic disorder characterized by inadequate brain growth, seizures, and other neurological problems, also may show autistic behavior. PDD – NOS, Asperger syndrome, CDD, and Rett’s syndrome are sometimes referred to as autism spectrum disorders. Intensive, sustained special education or remedial education programs and behavior therapy early in life may help children acquire self-care, social, and job skills. Available approaches include applied behavior analysis, developmental models, structured teaching, speech and language therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, social skills therapy, and occupational therapy.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Support services for autistic adults can be lacking, and many people have strong emotions after being diagnosed.

Read more about Autism here.