Autism in short...

Autism is not:

• an "acquired disease", one doesn't develop autism as a consequence of an illness, a particular experience or a shock.
• A developmental disorder due to the relationship between the child and his parents (mother or father). Therefore, dear parents, and especially mothers, stop feeling guilty... you are absolutely not responsible for this!!!
• A child's desire to withdraw within himself!

These are signs that can act as warning signs to parents:

• Your child doesn't look at you
• Your child makes strange repetitive gestures (stereotypies) For example: Clapping their hands, swinging, spinning round, etc...
• Using games or toys in an inappropriate way like aligning figurines instead of making up stories featuring them, etc...
• Your child finds it unbearably difficult to change locations or tries to impose on you uncommon habits (keeping the lights off, being fascinated by water running from the tap, etc...)
• Your child doesn't speak much, uses words in a wrong context or repeats the end of the sentences of the person talking to him.
• Your child can seem "deaf"; he doesn't react to noises that will startle the whole family, he doesn't follow simple instructions or doesn't stop when you shout to make him wait before crossing the road.
• Your child has habits that can seem obsessional; he often makes sure that the door is closed for example.
• Your child covers his ears with his hands when he hears certain noises (that wouldn't necessarily be unpleasant to other people).
• Associated to that,
  
  • Your child shows a global slowness of development (he only speaks a few words, etc...)
  • Your child undresses frequently during the day, as if he couldn't bear his clothes.
  • Your child selects his food (he only accepts to eat certain types of food and refuses to taste the others)

You should know that:

• Your child can develop normally during the first months of his life, or even for over a year, and then gradually lose his centers of interest (playing with his toys for example), eye contact becomes weaker (he looks at you less and less, his glance doesn't stop on your face as if he didn't see you), he's no longer curious about his environment.
• There are different types of autism. The common ones are
  
  • "Low-level" autism (Kanner's autism): the child shows slowness in learning and has difficulty acquiring and understanding verbal language (expressive and receptive language).
  • "High-level" autism (or Asperger's syndrom): the child has approximately the same rhythm of learning as other children. His major difficulties are in the field of social interaction. He has difficulty understanding social codes and implicit language. His centers of interest can be quite obsessional and his conversations are often focused on the same subject.
• In most cases, autism does not need to be treated by drugs and cares that are purely educative have proven themselves. The earlier and more intensive this treatment is, the better the prognosis.