•Characteristics of Autism

Autistic children display unusual behaviour. A typical autistic child's behaviour is likely to include some of the following:

* lack of fantasy play

* no speech

* non-speech vocalisations

* delayed development of speech

* echolalia: speech consisting of literally repeating something heard

* delayed echolalia: repeating something heard at an earlier time

* confusion between the pronouns "I" and "You"

* lack of interaction with other children

* lack of eye contact

* lack of response to people

* treating other people as if they were inanimate objects

* when picked up, offering no "help" ("feels like lifting a sack of potatoes")

* preoccupation with hands

* flapping hands

* spinning

* balancing, e.g. standing on a fence

* walking on tiptoes

Autism