There is no simple test for autism. It is diagnosed by watching a child’s behaviours and comparing them against developmental milestones. Early intervention can make significant differences for children with autism, so it is important to be aware of the symptoms of autism and the developmental milestones, and where there is concern to seek help as early as possible.

Below is a brief list of indicators of autism, with links to websites, which give more extensive information

Have your child evaluated for autism if:

At 6 months your child

• does not express joy or show big smiles

At 9 months your child

• does not engage in back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial     expressions

At 12 months your child

• does not babble or coo, or does so less than you would expect

does not use gestures like pointing, waving, reaching or showingdoes not respond or rarely responds to his or her name.

At 16 months your child

• does not use single words

At 24 months your child

• does not use two word spontaneous phrases to communicate (This does not     include repeating words just used by another person, also known as echolalia.)

At any age your child

• seems to lose any language or social skill

   
For more in-depth discussion of autism and developmental milestones, click on the following links:

http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/learnsigns.php#redflags

http://www.firstsigns.org

www.cdc.gov/actearly