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Moms Share The Early Signs of Autism: "I First Knew When..."

While it can take time to get an autism diagnosis, parents often have a sense earlier that their child may have autism. Here, moms share the early signs of autism that they first noticed (18 Photos)

Compiled by Lisa Moran on Apr 24, 2012 at 4:41PM

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Moms Share The Early Signs of Autism: "I First Knew When..."

Bradley, age 3

The Earliest Signs of Autism

Whether it's watching another kid chat up a storm, hearing from a preschool teacher with an eagle eye, or just gut maternal instinct, parents discover their child may be on the autism spectrum in so many different ways. Here, moms reveal the very earliest moments when they "knew."

Bradley, age 3

When I knew: "We realized at about 18 months that it had been several months since Bradley had said any new words or learned anything new. He had also started doing odd things like taking all my shoes out of the closet and grouping them by color and texture, and then lining them all up. He would also preferred to watch TV and play by himself rather than have anything to do with other kids his age. I had read a little about autistic children online and there were some signs and behaviors he just didn't fit into. He made eye contact and was a very affectionate boy. He loved hugs, kisses and tickles. But we still knew something was wrong. One day I was reading a magazine and came across an article about autistic children with a checklist. He fell into eight out of the 12 categories. We made an appointment to see the pediatrician the next day." -- Kelly, Bradley's mom, Texas

Recent victory: "Bradley loves music and numbers. He loves to sing, dance and count. Sing-along songs and dances and hand movements that go with them have been the most effective way to help him. He has said so many new words in the past few months -- it is amazing! He is a true joy and blessing to us. We know we have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but thanks to hard work of our therapists and the support system of other parents we have found with online communities like My Autism Team and Autism Speaks, we know we can handle it."

Connect with other moms of children with autism here.