Noticing changes in a child’s growth and development: Know when to seek guidance

This article is based on an interactive session conducted by Nayi Disha, addressed by consultant pediatrician Dr. Ajay Sharma, who answered parents’ concerns about child growth, development and associated delays.

On 11th November 2017, Nayi Disha Resource Centre conducted an interactive session for families of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Some of the key focus points of his interactions with parents focused on some common concerns such as –

• Why does child development matter?
• What helps in early identification of developmental delays?
• What are the early indications of autism?
• When can children be typically diagnosed with having Autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

What are the early signs of Autism?

As Dr. Ajay rightly mentions, there is still a lot to be found and understood about autism. There are some significant milestones that children start developing from 4 months of age, such as:

• Looking and smiling at people around, especially the mother
• Responding to name at around 6-8 months of age
• Babbling at the age of 12 – 18 months
• Showing interest in pretend play and playing with another person at around 18 months
• Decrease in repetitive mannerisms
• playing with other children at around the age of 2

By the age of 18 months, there are significant shifts in the child’s growth and development. However, according experts have observed delayed milestones especially concerns in communication, social interactions and repetitive mannerisms in children with autism.  

It is important to remember that signs in autism may often overlap with symptoms observed in other conditions such as global developmental delays, ADHD etc. Therefore, it is important to seek help from experts. More importantly, the focus should primarily be on:

1. What is the need of the child?
2. What situations are hindering the development of the child?
3. What are the things that are helpful for the child?

What age can children be diagnosed with autism?

Autism is not indicative of a single symptom or a very specific condition, it is a vast collective of several different signs and characteristics. Hence, autism spectrum disorders or ASD looks different for different children.

As Dr. Ajay mentions during the session, there are primary three different age groups where children can be diagnosed:

1. Children at the age of 18 months who show no interest in their surroundings with delayed milestones for their age.
2. Children about 3-4 years of age: It is widely seen that most children are diagnosed with autism around the age of 3 years because most developmental delays in language, communication or social interaction become quite important.
3. Children at the age of 7 mostly due to concerns in communication and social interactions

Dr. Ajay reiterates the importance of understanding that being a spectrum of  different signs and characteristics, it is not possible for any diagnostic test to diagnose all children at a particular age. A child can be appropriately diagnosed only based on the different features they manifest at any given age.

What are the causes of autism?

It is important to remember that there is no known cause of autism. However, there seem to be several contributory factors such as genetic makeup and environmental factors.

Autism cannot be attributed to any physical illnesses in the child such as febrile seizures or administration of vaccines such as the MMR vaccines.

This interactive session aimed at helping parents and caregivers understand and interpret their child’s developmental time course and assess means by which developmental delays may be spotted by focusing on missed childhood milestones. 

It also attempted to clear certain misconceptions surrounding autism and aimed at empowering parents with the right information.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that this guide is for information purposes only. Please consult a qualified health practitioner for safe management.

If you have questions about Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD, or other intellectual disabilities, or have concerns about developmental delays in a child, the Nayi Disha team is here to help. For any questions or queries, please contact our FREE Helpline at 844-844-8996. You can call or what’s app us. Our counselors speak different languages including English, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, and Bengali.

Check out an insightful video of Dr. Ajay Sharma where he addresses the measures parents need to take when they suspect a delay in their child’s development. The video is available both in English and Hindi.