Early Signs Noah Had

1)Inability to deal with the "in between" situation of anything (Noah had a very difficult time with changes in his routine in preschool or at home and in Kindergarten. Initially he would break out in temper tantrums and push or shove things or try to bite people and NOT do whatever was required of him-he has progressed and now if he has a temper tantrum it is short-lived-he has learned to calm down first and then try to handle things and that changes are okay)
2)Attachments to persons and/or normal childhood things (stuffed animals, blanket) is not there. The child is more attached to specific, favorite often unusual items and can play with them for hours (Noah never really seemed attached to anything as an infant like some kids would be-as he got older he became attached to a bear...but it was mostly things like pillows, pinwheels he could spin, calculator, or computer games as he can play all day long on his PC by himself if we let him-though there are some days he does not want anything to do with it)
3)Attention focus (goes both ways-can have amazing focus for specific things and yet none at all for others) (see above-he has tremendous focus for things that interest him-and little for things that don't)
4)Biting or gnawing (mostly objects or people though they can bite themselves too)(Noah has gone through stages where he was gnawing on all kinds of things even things that should not be chewed on-then he has gone through spells where in frustration he would bite or try to bite people)
5)Blank stares (this happens a lot with Noah and especially on days after he has had tremendous overload-I was afraid he was having seizures but the physician did not seem to think so)
6)Constant running back and forth or jumping/spinning to get sensory stimulation via feet (no one quite gets this until you LIVE with someone with autism-Noah will sometimes walk around in circles in the living room before bedtime over and over and over or up and down the hall back and forth over and over and over as it seems to calm him. He is always jumping or spinning as he walks or body slamming into walls as he walks. I rarely see him just walk in a line anywhere with anyone without some kind of constant jerking movement)
7)Does not always respond to name (sometimes Noah would not respond to his name at all-if he was into something and was focused on it he would never answer-he does very well with this now)
8)Echolalia (repetition of words)(When we used to take Noah to the park when he was little he would hear other kids talking and saw how they acted on the playground and he would repeat EVERYHING he heard and not once but over and over and over and over)
9)Extreme or unusual sensitivity to light and/or sound (child squints a lot or puts hands over ears a lot)(Noah does both of these things a lot-but his hearing is probably even more sensitive than his sensitivity to light)
10)Fascination with captions/credits at the end of a movie-also likes to rewind or fast forward videos over and over (Noah can have a fit if you turn a movie off before the credits are finished)
11)Hand flapping (Noah does this when he gets extremely excited about something. He hand flaps all the time when he plays on the piano
12)Hyperactivity (Noah has extreme activity to be sure though he can have periods where he will be quiet)
13)Impaired motor function (Noah had delays in fine and gross motor skills)
14)Inappropriate play-lack of pretend play (Noah NEVER had pretend play-and if you tried to pretend play he did not "get it"-we were not really aware of this till he started preschool and they brought it to our attention and we realized he indeed had NO pretend play ability-this was something we worked with the preschool on and now at 6 years of age he is finally pretend playing!)
15)No flexibility-has trouble with changes in routine (used to be a HUGE issue for Noah but he does much better now with changes in his routine-he only gets upset now if the change will make things louder or over stimulating-such as Easter service at Church when it was almost too much for him to handle with the extra people and loud music and talking and noise)
16)Does not point with finger (Noah never pointed with his finger-we had to teach him to do that)
17)Lack of sensitivity to pain-0r over sensitivity to something that should not really be painful (sometimes something that should hurt Noah does not phase him at all-other times the slightest tiniest thing will set him off crying)
18)Lack of social skills and boundaries (HUGE issue for Noah-he does not "get" most social cues or skills at all and he definitely has a problem with boundaries)
19)Leg banging, body shaking-to get sensory stimulation (always moving something somewhere it seems-will even throw himself on the floor sometimes over and over and laughs)
20)Limited food choices (ongoing issues for Noah-has extreme pickiness to eating)
21)loss of language, lack of language development and use of nonsense language (Noah has speech language delay and receptive and expressive language delays)
22)no fear of danger (again these are extreme issues for Noah-has had to be taught stranger danger- and that there are certain things you just do not do-like climbing on the nightstand in the bedroom and jumping off)
23)Must have order (Noah is a bit picky about where things are as everything has to be put back where it belongs..but that is also what I have taught him from day one of life...wish I could say the same about his daddy!)
24)Potty training does not come easily (HUGE issue for Noah-has potty training down at 5 1/2 years of age but still needs help with wiping after bowel movements)
25)Pushing forehead along floor with butt in air (Noah did this a lot as a toddler-the preschool was worried about this and that is when we became more aware of it happening-not sure why but perhaps for the sensory input)
26)Red cheeks (they say this can be a sign of allergies-Noah has none I am aware of but he can get red cheeks..course his Mommy has flushed cheeks all the time too)
27)Removes bandaids or anything that does not belong on the skin (used to never want anything like that on his body-now will tolerate fun bandaids)
28)Likes routine (as above)
29)Screaming or screeching many times throughout the day (Noah makes sounds all day long off and on over and over-they seem to calm him like meditation
30)Self injurious behavior (Noah would sometimes bite himself just to see what it felt like-pulled his hair-bites his nails including his toe nails now really short)
31)Sense of touch is heightened-sensitivity to textures (was a huge issue in preschool-I could have cared less whether he wanted to touch shaving cream or sandpaper, paint and sand, etc,. but the staff was worried about it-they worked with him getting used to having things on his hands and he is now much better and does not mind getting a little dirty in different textures)
32)Seeks sensory stimulation (always jumping, running, spinning, looking for vertigo effect) (key word for me here is "always"-haha)
33)Sideways glancing (Noah has always done this and still does)
34)Speech delay (yep)
35)Staring at ceiling fans and lights or anything that spins (yep-fascinated for hours)
36)Tantrums and violent outbursts coming out of nowhere (yep but less now)
37)Loner syndrome-can play alone for hours (yep-will say "okay Mommy go away now)
38)perfect baby (yep)
39)toilet flushing and fascination with toilets (YES YES YES....this went on for a long time and he is still fascinated with toilets and restrooms and flushing!)