How to Tell If a Baby Has Autism

Wondering how to tell if a baby has autism? Dr. Mary Barbera discusses autism in babies and how to identify whether a baby might have autism.

When raising a newborn, some parents might start asking themselves “does my baby have autism?” In this video, we will explore the crucial topic of autism screening for babies and provide insights into the diagnosis of autism in infants. As parents, it's natural to wonder if your baby might have autism, and we're here to help you navigate this concern. We'll discuss the signs to look for and offer practical guidance on how to recognize autism in babies. By understanding the importance of baby developmental milestones and their relationship to autism, you can gain valuable knowledge in assessing your child's development. Our aim is to raise autism awareness in babies and empower you with the tools to identify potential signs of autism in your little ones.

While the signs of autism in babies can be difficult to identify due to the young age of the child there are things you can do as a parent or caretaker to be aware of potential signs. Early diagnosis plays a crucial role in providing the best possible outcome for children with autism, and we'll shed light on the process of autism diagnosis in babies. By learning about the connection between autism and infant development, you'll be equipped with the information needed to navigate this journey.

If you enjoyed this video about babies and autism, be sure to subscribe to the channel, like this video and visit my website below. If you have more questions, leave them down in the comments section, and I will do my best to answer you. Thanks for watching today's video on signs baby has autism and autism symptoms in babies. Let's #turnautismaround together!

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🧩 About Mary Barbera 👩‍⚕️

I'm Dr. Mary Barbera and I fell into the autism world more than two decades ago when my first-born son, Lucas, was diagnosed with autism. Since then, I became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Host of the Turn Autism Around podcast (with more than 1 million downloads), and best-selling author of two books (including my newest book Turn Autism Around: An Action Guide for Parents of Young Children with Early Signs of Autism).

In addition to free content, I post daily across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. I also offer two online courses for parents and professionals: The Toddler/Preschooler course to help young children ages 1-5 showing signs of autism (with or without a diagnosis) and the Verbal Behavior Bundle course to help kids over the age of 6!
Behavior Analyst BACB CEUs and Early Intervention contact hours are also included for professionals.

Whether you have a toddler showing signs of autism or you're a parent or professional helping an autistic child, I encourage you to subscribe to the Turn Autism Around YT channel and join me for videos almost every day that will help you increase talking, decrease tantrums, and improve eating, sleeping, and potty training!

#parenting

[jusliyah]

Yes keeping track of milestones is important . I noticed some milestones were delayed with my son who is a twin when he was between 2 & 3 years of age .

He was keeping up with his twin at the beginning, but I noticed suddenly he would take a while before responding to his name, he would start to play alone more and the way he played with his toys, he would line/stack them up, by side, color, etc .

He went from understanding basic tasks such as putting the dishes in the sink and trash in the trash can, and started mixing them up.

The stemming /rocking back and forth is what pushed me forward to see a specialist for a proper diagnosis .
He is 9 today, minimal-verbal, and I’m considering ABA, as the behavior has been up and down as of lately . It’s journey, but worthwhile 💙

[AmericanPam]

18 months is an important time to keep an eye out for signs of loss of speech, loss of fine motor / skills that they had and now don't, and stemming. I was a Pre-K inclusive Autism Teacher for 10 years and had 2 siblings older was boy he was severe and autism was present and noticable to his family from birth but his little sister was born typical and met every milestone on time or early and she was talking full sentences and knew ABC's and could count to 10. She hit 18 months and lost EVERYTHING AND BECAME just as severe as her brother. Her family was in shock and they were devastated it was like they lost their daughter . I ended up also getting her in my class not long after. They both would make leaps and bounds with communication and skills but their family was never the same and seemed to look forward to dropping them to me daily and fought for full day immediately.

[katpender]

Just want to add for anyone who is concerned- not pointing is NOT a huge concern for autism- and even if they don’t point by the time some arbitrary source says they should, they can learn and it really isn’t a huge deal.

My son didn’t point until he learned to do it in developmental preschool after turning 3. He now communicates beautifully with his words. He plays with other kids, he laughs and sings every day. He has never had ABA, only speech and OT and is on par with other kids his age.

The same goes for hand flapping. I have encountered multiple children ages 3+ who flap their hands/arms and are neurotypical. Another “sign” which means nothing.

Definitely don’t let a diagnosis of autism scare you- it’s just a label. Trust your instincts. If your child is doing well and is happy, the diagnosis means nothing. ♥️

[TruthIsTheNewHate]

I could tell my grandson had autism before he was 6 months old. I told my wife and my daughter and they thought I was being paranoid. He's now 4 and sure enough his doctors finally confirmed by suspicions. It's just frustrating that doctors refused to take my concerns serious until now. Insurance wouldn't cover any therapy for him until he got a diagnosis and the doctors wouldn't diagnose him until recently. It's frustrating but I am very blessed to have him as a grandson. He's hilarious and really fun to be around. I recently bought a .22 cal pellet rifle for him and I to bond over when he gets a little older.

[sarahgreen]

We noticed in new born babies, my sister had a baby same time as me. Her son hand different hand movements to mine as a new born. He wouldn't clench a fist, held his fingers out straight. It was clear he was different very earlier. I'll always remember the hand movements and spotted it other new borns that have gone onto be diagnosed with autism. If a newborn has lack of fist clenching its a red flag to me.

[StxrrrrPoooh]

I’m watching this video to help me see if my son has autism. He’s currently 2 right now and I haven’t took him to the doctor yet because his dad thinks it’s not necessary basically he basically thinks im exaggerating but im concerned! He was behind on walking for a lil bit including when he turned one. He was mainly crawling he knew how to stand how for long periods of times but couldn’t really walk. He’s walking now though I forgot when he started walking but he was behind! He throws tantrums randomly, even throws one when he doesn’t listen or say no, lay down, come here, etc. He’ll scream and/or cry. He also spits when you tell him to stop. He hides when we have company depending on who it is and when he’s around his cousins he’ll scream he likes playing by himself. He hits me with toys sometimes when he doesn’t get his way or would kick. He even walking on his tippy toes sometimes. And he’s suuuuper active he runs around a lot and he never really sleeps he’ll take some naps and be for the rest of the day basically. And to me it seems like he has an hard time listening it takes him awhile to listen. I wrote everything down that im concerned about to make him an appointment on Monday

He even spins and like stuff that spines for example a washer and dryer. You can tell my son to stop several times and he’ll still do something. Sometimes he always hides when he’s in trouble like when he knows he did something he knows that he wasn’t supposed to do.

If these are signs of autism please let me know! Idk to me it sounds like he does have it or some type of disability but idk im just worried

[petergriffiinbirdistheword]

My baby is not babling, coo'ing or pointing. He smiles but doesn't laugh and can't roll from back to stomach.

[belqisyousufi]

Thank you so much it was a helpful video❤
Regards my niece almost 4 years and she doesn’t respond when we call her or she’s crossing her finger when ever she get excited. Please I’m worries about it, do you think is it autism. Or Can we treat autism child to get rid of it?

[petergriffiinbirdistheword]

I told my sister her son was autistic at 1 year old. I don't know if she recognized the signs before I mentioned it. He's a teen now, doing great and getting tons of help.

[RegimentJoker]

The cdc milestones for 18 months are ridiculously insane

[intuitknit]

We used to screen babies for being at risk and a big one was smiling at 2 months of age when looking at your face.