Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disorder characterized by impairments in social communication and the presence of repetitive and stereotyped behaviours. ASD is often associated with other developmental, health and behavioural challenges such as language impairment, uneven cognitive and adaptive skills, seizures, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

​

See these other domains and areas of interest for more information:

• Attention difficulty and/or hyperactive behaviour

• Behaviour

• Self-Regulation

• Sensory

• Social/emotional

• Speech and language

​

The severity of symptoms for ASD can vary widely; however, all individuals with an ASD diagnosis have impairments in the ability to function in social settings and often in many other areas in daily life.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

If the child presents any of the following behaviours, consider this a red flag:

​

Social Concerns

► Does not smile in response to another person
► Poor/decreased eye contact with people,
► although may look intently at objects
► Lack of “joint engagement” e.g. does not play peek-a-boo games
► Lack of imitation e.g. does not wave bye-bye
► Limited showing, giving, sharing and directing of others’ attention
► Delayed imaginative play or lack of varied, spontaneous make-believe play
► Prefers to play alone i.e. decreased interest in other children
► Poor interactive play
► Regression i.e. any loss of social skills at any age
► Prefers to do things for them self rather than ask for help
► Awkward or absent greeting of others

​

Communication Concerns

► Delayed or atypical language
► Unusual language e.g. repeating phrases from movies, echoing other people, repetitive use of phrases, odd intonation (echolalia)
► Inconsistent response or lack of response to their name or instructions i.e. may respond to sounds but not language
► Decreased ability to compensate for delayed speech by gesturing/pointing
► Poor comprehension of language (words and gestures)
► Regression i.e. any loss of language skills at any age (regression), particularly between 15 and 24 months
► Inability to carry on a conversation

​

Behavioural Concerns

► Repetitive hand and/or body movements e.g. finger wiggling, hand and arm flapping, tensing of fingers, complex body movements, spinning, jumping
► Severe repeated tantrums due to interruption of routine, interruption of repetitive behaviour or unknown reasons
► Unusual sensory interests e.g. visually squinting or looking at things out of the corner of the eye, smelling, licking, mouthing objects, hypersensitive hearing
► Narrow range of interests in which they engage repetitively
► Insistent on maintaining sameness in routine, activities, clothing, etc.
► Unusual preoccupation with objects e.g. light switches, fans, spinning objects, vertical blinds, wheels, balls
► Unusual response to pain i.e. high or low tolerance