Early warning signs for autism spectrum disorder in infants
International Journal of Development Research
Early warning signs for autism spectrum disorder in infants
Received 02nd August, 2020; Received in revised form 18th September, 2020; Accepted 09th October, 2020; Published online 30th November, 2020
Copyright © 2020, Francisco Plácido Nogueira Arcanjo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood, and early specialized treatment for ASD may contribute to significant gains in cognitive, social, and linguistic functioning.However, early diagnosis is challenging and there is frequently a delay between the first warning signs and diagnosis. The aim of this study was to identify the state of knowledge on the early warning signs for ASD in infants (0-23 months of age) from a review of the literature. The main early warning signs identified in this review were: less inclination to follow gaze; decline in eye fixation;less social communication skills; less receptive and expressive speech; less empathic concern; lack of interest in play; motor stereotypies; repetitive manipulation of objects; low rates of canonical babble; and low volubility.
