Developmental Milestone Examples

Many people believe that autism is its own disorder that children are diagnosed with. However, autism is actually a term used for a wide range of disorders. Autism 's clinical name is Autism Spectrum Disorder. The term spectrum is used because of the range of symptoms, intensity, and behaviors autism effects. There are also many different types of autism. There is "classic" autism which is associated with being non-verbal and anti-social. Another form of autism is Asperger Syndrome which is associated by having peculiar social skills and play. Other types of autism include Autistic Disorder, Asperger Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rett Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The first signs that a child many have autism are usually noticed between the ages of fifteen and eighteen months when a loss of skills or delays in development are noticed. Prenatal stress may be a leading cause of autism. Yet, there are no true known cures. Autism is characterized by back-and-forth gestures, sounds, attention, play, and conversation. Temper tantrums that are uncontrollable are also a sign of autism. Lastly, a child may use pictures or signing to be understood. All of these symptoms are a key to diagnosing a child with autism. The earlier a child is diagnosed, the better the prognosis for this child. While there isn’t a cure for autism, there are ways to make sure children with autism have the best developmental outcome. This is possible through early

Diagnosis. The earliest indicators of autism are impairments of verbal and nonverbal communication. A child with autism will have difficulties responding to their name, smiling and making eye contact, babbling or cooing by twelve months, and using single or two word phrases by twenty-four months (NIMH, n.d.). A proper diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is a two part process. The child is first given a general screening to check for developmental issues. If the child is not making satisfactory developmental progress according to his or her age group, the child would be referred for additional screening. At this stage, the child will need to be screened to check for specific symptoms of autism. The screening can be based solely on the parent’s observation of the

The reason why Ms. Carolyn stated that it is important to track developmental milestones is because you will never know when you will catch something different from the child. It also helps with making a milestone checklist because it helps with keeping up with each child’s progress. Because of using a checklist, it helps keep Ms. Carolyn in check and helps with thinking of things her children should be doing next. It’s also important to track developmental milestone because it’s useful for the families of the children. The reason why it is important for the families is because it can give great information with families so they know what to look for next along with her.

Signs and symptoms of autism include avoiding eye contact, delayed language, whole body movements, repetitive motor actions like hand flapping or twisting and sensitivities to loud noises. Also children with autism are often withdrawn. A child with autism may have problems with social skills and communication skills.

Adolescence is the developmental period of transition from childhood to early adulthood, entered at approximately 10 to 12 years of age and ending at 18 years of age (Hollingsworth, 2016). This time frame is marked with rapid physical changes such as dramatic gains in height and weight, changes in body contour, and development of sexual characteristics.

Autism spectrum disorder is a complex disorder of brain development characterized by early onset difficulties in social communication, behavior, and sensory processing (Webb, 2009). Although, based on the child, symptoms can vary widely within each of these areas. Characteristics of autism often begin to surface between the ages of 8-10 months old, and continue to become more apparent as the child ages. Symptoms of ASD in infants include, failure to respond to their names, delayed babbling, and lack of social interaction. Other red flag characteristics include failure to meet normal milestones, and low muscle tone. As the child grows, characteristics of autism spectrum disorder may become more prominent, and include symptoms such as lack of eye contact, sensory difficulties or self-stimulatory behavior (Webb, 2009). Based on the severity of the diagnoses, children with autism could have other medical conditions including intellectual disabilities, seizures, anxiety disorders, and issues pertaining to the gastrointestinal tract. Autism is referred to as a spectrum, because not all people will experience, or exhibit the symptoms in the same way.

There are core symptoms of Autism that are most commonly seen including, but not limited to, language impairment, social deficits, and repetitive behaviors. There are also associated neurological and systematic issues including, anxiety, sleep deficits, hyperactivity, attention, immune dysfunction, and GI disorders. (Autism Speaks)

According to ASHA (American Speech and hearing association) “Autism Spectrum disorder(ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interaction and the presence of restricted, repetitive behaviors”. Throughout history the definition of Autism has changed from not including social aspects to including social aspects. The definition of ASD is not the only thing that has changed, technology has followed suit. Experts can now detect and diagnose at a faster rate than ever before, allowing parents to watch for signs that point to autism. Informing parents faster can positively aid in how a child develops emotionally, physically and socially. Properly detecting and diagnosing is imperative being

Autism disorder impacts the nervous system. The range and severity of symptoms can vary extensively. The common symptoms include difficulty with communication, difficulty with social interactions and obsessive behaviors. Early acknowledgment of Autism, as well as behavioral, educational, and family therapy may reduce symptoms and support development and

Furthermore, they are also very subtle signs that your child may have autism, such as repeated motions, avoiding eye contact and delays in learning to talk. (Brennan) What is most shocking to all is that there also signs inside of an infant as well as the following statement in which it states, your child definitely has ASD if the child does not respond to the mother’s voice, does not respond to hearing its’ own name, not looking at people in the eyes and will not have any babbling or pointing at age one.

Symptoms of autism include impairment of social communication and interactions, or repetitive behavior. A child with autism will fail to respond to their name being called. They might be isolated to their own private world or even engage in repetitive behaviors.

In between these vastly different ends of the spectrum is a continuum that covers a plethora of social deficits such as making eye contact, carrying on a conversation, echoic speech, social isolation, and understanding the feelings of others around them. ASD individuals are often overly sensitive to sounds and sights and may exhibit repetitive behaviors. (Muse) People with ASD have difficulty with change and do better if a predictable routine is established and in place. Identification of autism at an early stage is recommended and allows the parents to begin interventions such as communication therapy and behavioral training to address some of the social difficulties they will be facing (Fernell 2). Currently there is not a solid reason on why autism is caused, therefore diagnosing autism at an early age is difficult. Parental input is the beginning point to diagnosing autism. Parents often communicate with their pediatrician that their child isn’t developing normally or is exhibiting stims or other unusual behaviors (Parks pg 14). With no medical test to diagnose autism, health-care professionals and schools are called upon to perform a comprehensive series of evaluations that include observation, review of developmental history, parent interview, assessments of speech and language and psychological testing. On the other hand, If parents are unaware of typical symptoms of autism, they may not refer their child for an evaluation. Although the

Considering Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, parents and caregivers can detect signs of autism very early on in children by monitoring their children’s developmental milestones. According to Autism Speaks Canada (2016), some "red flags" that may be indicative of children being at risk for an autism spectrum disorder

Often times when I was very young I would go through developmental leaps, when I was two I went through a period of time where I was learning about systems. This leap caused me to become crankier than usual and often times I misbehaved simply because I could. As my mother tells the story, she explained that she was having a hard time handling me while she was pregnant with my sister. She understood her own emotions in this situation; she was overwhelmed, overworked, and frustrated. In this situation Leanne was demonstrating a sense of self-awareness, but her emotional intelligence does not stop. She also understood the essence of self-management, she was able to create a self-assessment of where she was strong in this area and were she was