TABLE 1.

Early signs of autism

Atypical social-emotional engagement/connectedness and play, notably a lack of: Social smiling (specifically in response to the smiles of others) Shared affect/interest in social games such as peek-a-boo (in absence of physical contact such as tickling) Interest in other children (eg, ignores/avoids or does not imitate their play) Orienting to own name being called Interest in toys, or plays with them in unusual ways (eg, lining up, spinning or opening/closing a part rather than using toy as a whole) Pretend play (eg, feeding a stuffed animal or having a tea party)

Delays/abnormalities in language and non-verbal communication, notably a lack of:

Following others eye gaze to a nearby object/person Shared/joint attention (eg, eye gaze with another person and an object/event of interest) Communicative gestures such as using eye gaze to request something, pointing at a distant object of interest (eg, an airplane), or waving good-bye Social/reciprocal babbling, as in conversing with others Meaningful language (eg, delayed, odd first words or unusually repetitive)

Regression/loss of early words and/or social-emotional engagement/connectedness

Other atypical behaviours Lack of active visual exploration of environment Tends to stare or visually fixate on certain objects/patterns (eg, lights) Tends to be under- and/or over-reactive to sounds or other forms of sensory stimulation (eg, seeks out certain stimuli in an unusual way, or covers ears to loud sounds)