Medications and Early Signs of Autism
Antipsychotics like risperidone have been approved for the treatment of autism-related symptoms. Risperidone is the first drug approved for use in autism patients, both children and adolescents. It helps reduce irritability in children aged five to sixteen years.
Studies have shown that you can detect the signs of autism in a child once they are eighteen months old or earlier. An autistic child tends to reach all the developmental milestones slower than other babies.
It is best to visit a medical practitioner, preferably a pediatrician if your child doesn’t reach the developmental milestones when due. Some children may learn these skills but lose them overtime.
Some of the developmental milestones include: [3]
- Begins to make eye contact by three months – studies have shown that babies are especially skilled at distinguishing faces better than adults. It is no surprise that your three to eight months old baby starts to stare at faces within this period.
- Smiling by six months.
- Imitating facial expressions or making soft sounds by nine months
- Coos or babbles by twelve months (one year).
- Responds to his or her name between six to twelve months
- Makes and understands hand gestures like pointing, clapping, and waving by fourteen months.
- Starts to make coherent sounds (words) by sixteen months
- Plays pretend or “make-believe” by eighteen months. Now, your baby starts to carry out actions that they’ve seen you do overtime, like talking on the phone or reading books.
- Starts to construct short sentences by twenty- four months (two years)
- Hugs, kisses, and pecks on the cheek are common signs of affections to babies. Older babies often begin to reciprocate these gestures.
- Loss of language, receptive, or motor skills at any age – in some cases, an autistic baby may gain knowledge of certain skills but lose them later on.
These are some of the early signs to detect if your baby has autism. This is a serious condition that shouldn’t be based on self-diagnosis. Make an appointment with your child’s doctor when he or she fails to exhibit any of these skills. [4]
Reference:
[1] https://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/understanding-autism-basics
[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352928#:~:text=Genetics.,risk%20of%20autism%20spectrum%20disorder.
[3] https://www.parents.com/baby/health/autism/early-signs-of-autism-in-babies/
[4] https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/Autism/Pages/Early-Signs-of-Autism-Spectrum-Disorders.aspx#:~:text=%E2%80%8BMany%20children%20with%20autism,social%20language%20often%20go%20unnoticed.