Nothing is scarier than waking up one day and suddenly your bubbly, happy little one no longer talks or babbles. Or that instead of the smiles and giggles you used to get, you get a blank stare, one that looks right through you, like youre not even in the same reality as you. Maybe they even stop walking. Or start behaving in strange manners, repeating the same arm flapping over and over again. And you wonder, what went wrong? What happened? What robbed my child of their emotion? Autism does just this.
You wake up one morning and your child has regressed, in an extreme manner. Your toddler no longer does any thing he used to. The light and happiness in them is suddenly gone. And it happens, just like that.
Autism is a very scary disorder in that it isnt always present from birth. It is one of those life changing disorders that suddenly robs the live out of the child you love and care about so greatly.
What are the symptoms?
One is a loss of communicative skills. Your child will be unable to maintain eye contact. Instead of verbally asking for something or talking to you, you may get grunts and groans instead. Instead of pointing to what they want, or asking for it, you end up with an all out tantrum cause you dont just know what they want. They lack an understanding of empathy. They are also unable to read and respond to body language, it just doesnt make sense to them.
Another key symptom of autism is the lack of socialization skills. They may be unable to interact with other children in any capacity. They may be unresponsive to the people around them. The very people trying to play with them. Or they may focus excessively on one thing and be unable to move on from it.
They may also exhibit repetitive behaviours. This can be one of the hardest things to cope with, especially when out is public. You may see them rocking over and over in the corner of the room, or they may be banging their head against the wall over and over. Another common behaviour is to flap their arms up and down, and do so for hours at a time. It can also present itself as self injurious behaviour, where their repetitive behaviour actually harms them, or those around you.
Waking up to autism can be a nightmare. Gone is your picture perfect baby, and in its place is this wonderful little being who is lost in their own world and begging for your help to move forward. With your love and care you can return much that was robbed from the child you love and make it so that autism doesnt rob them of everything. For more help on how to cope, click here!
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