If the below mentioned signs are noticed by parents you can contact Shiloah Therapy and learning Centre where we carry out a detailed evaluation. We specialize in providing intensive, individualized treatment rooted in the principles of ABA in order to meet our patients’ needs. Our treatment plans focus on increasing skills that will lead to increased opportunities, involvement, and independence while simultaneously decreasing problem behavior and other barriers to learning.

Parenting comes with great responsibility. The process of raising children is beautiful and gives a lot of joy. But sometimes in that process parents tend to overlook signs which could later bring in challenges in their child's development. Here are some points to keep in mind as your child grows.

An evaluation which is carried out in Shiloah, followed by intervention is recommended if the following signs are evident or if there is a delay:

1. At 12 months of age, if you notice that other kids are all either cruising or walking, but your child still isn't even pulling up to a standing position, then he likely is delayed.

2. A Smiling Baby: Not having a social smile by six months of age is commonly considered as an early sign of autism. The spontaneous smile can occur as early as your baby's first few days of life and should be present by the time he is ten weeks old.

3. A Baby Laughing: A developmental milestone that many babies reach by the time that they are six to twelve weeks old.

4. A Baby Rolling Over: A developmental milestone that most babies reach by the time that they are two to six months old. Rolling over is often one of the first major motor milestones that parents look forward to.

5. A Baby Sitting Up: A developmental milestone that most babies reach by the time that they are five and a half to seven months old.

6. A baby standing up: A baby standing with support, a developmental milestone that most infants reach by the time that they are six and a half to nine months old.

7. Baby's First Steps: A developmental milestone most babies reach between eleven and fifteen months.

8. Waving Bye-Bye: A developmental milestone that most babies can reach once they are seven to 14 months old. Although, waving hello and bye-bye seems like just a fun thing to teach your baby, it is actually an important developmental milestone.

9. Pincer Grasp: A developmental milestone that most babies reach when they are about seven to 11 months old. Before they use a thumb-finger pincer grasp, at about seven to 11 months old, infants typically pick things up with a more immature palmer grasp.

10. Pretend Play: An important developmental milestone that most infants reach when they are about ten to 16 months old. Pretend play often involves things like using a computer mouse like a phone, imitating an activity a toddler has seen his parents do over and over. Toddlers will also begin to copy more of their parents’ daily household tasks, such as dusting and sweeping, at around 18 months. Pretend play will get more elaborate as your child gets older; for example, your child pretends he is a doctor, fireman, or race car driver.

11. Baby's First Words: A baby's first words, which are usually mama or dada, and which you may hear for the first time when your baby is six to nine months old. Well before your baby's first words, your baby should be saying single syllables and frequently jabbering or babbling. Not babbling by twelve months is seen by most experts as an early sign of autism or other developmental disorder. In fact, you will usually hear your baby's first words, which are usually mama or dada, by the time she is six to nine months old. Your baby won't use those words more specifically or correctly until she is seven to 13 months old though.

12. Parallel Play: Toddlers playing next to each other, which is called parallel play, and is typical of most kids around age two. Group play and sharing doesn't usually evolve until age three. Until then, most infants and younger toddlers simply play by themselves next to each other, in parallel play.

13. A Toddler Walking Up Steps: A developmental milestone that most toddlers can reach once they are 14 to 22 months old. Most toddlers can walk up steps once they are 14 to 22 months old. That doesn't mean that it is time to take the gates off of your stairs just yet. Keep things childproofed until your child is older. Remember that gates should be installed on both the top and bottom of every staircase in your home. For how long? Probably at least until your child is able to open them on his own.

15. Eating with a Spoon and Fork: A milestone most children reach between 13 and 21 months, although they may still be messy. Once they begin feeding themselves, most babies won't easily go back to being fed by a parent or other caregiver. Instead, they like to use their fingers, at least until they learn to use a spoon, a milestone most children reach between 13 and 21 months. Keep in mind that even though your toddler begins to use a spoon, fork, or cup, that doesn't mean that he will be very good at it right away. So you can still expect a mess at meals for a little while longer.

16. Riding a Tricycle: A developmental milestone that most children can reach by the time they are three years old. Pre-schoolers can usually learn to pedal a tricycle once they are about three years old. By four, they can usually learn to ride a two wheel bike with training wheels, which they can take off when they are about five to six years old.

17. Counting: A developmental milestone that most kids can reach once they are four to five and a half years old. Like learning their ABC's and printing their name, it is important that pre-schoolers learn to count so that they are ready to start kindergarten. Learning to count can take some practice though, so don't be discouraged if your child isn't getting it right away. Remember that most kids can count to ten or more once they are four to five and a half years old.

18. Writing Letters: Most children can write letters and spell their own name by the time they are five years old, which is just in time for them to start kindergarten.

19. Making a Tower of Blocks: A developmental milestone that many children reach at about 24 to 36 months. Most kids have fun playing with blocks. It is doubtful that any of them realize that stacking blocks into a tower is actually an important developmental test. Making a tower of blocks is usually considered to be a visual-motor/problem solving milestone, and most kids can make a tower of:

  • 2 blocks by 15 to 21 months
  • 4 blocks by 17 to 24 months
  • 6 blocks by 18 to 30 months
  • 8 blocks by 24 to 36 months
  • 9 blocks after 3 years

20. A Child Dressing Himself: A developmental milestone that many kids can reach by the time they are three to four and a half years old. Before they learn to fully dress themselves, your child will likely learn to take off his clothes between 14 and 24 months, put on some clothing between 21 and 30 months, put on a t-shirt between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 years, and get dressed and undressed without help, including buttoning his clothes, when he is 3 to 4 1/2 years old.

21. Tying Shoes: A developmental milestone that most kids should reach once they are about five years old. Although in this day of Velcro shoes and Crocs, it may seem like your child may never need to learn how to tie his own shoes, most kids learn by about age five years.

For any clarification on the above mentioned signs, please contact Shiloah Therapy and Learning Centre for a detailed evaluation and customised integrated therapy plan for your child.

ADHD

The Importance of Early Detection

It's so important to learn about the early symptoms of ADHD in pre-school age children and about the ways ADHD can impair a child's behavior and learning.

When parents, caregivers, and teachers are aware of and educated about ADHD, they can be more proactive in getting positive strategies in place and intervening before the child develops a pattern of negative behaviors or damaged self-esteem. Early intervention may also potentially prevent the emergence of further symptoms and secondary conditions such as anxiety or oppositional defiant behaviors.

In addition when parents and teachers are able to recognize these signs and impairments, they are likely to be more tolerant and understanding of these pre-schoolers and are more apt to utilize helpful interventions and get an effective plan in place to address the problems as opposed to responding in ways that may exacerbate the symptoms.

Signs of Impulsivity in Preschool Age Children:

  • Difficulty waiting turn
  • Interrupts others
  • Invades space or boundaries
  • Blurts out verbally sometimes inappropriate wordings
  • Reacts without th – or is accident prone
  • Difficulty with delayed gratification
  • Difficulty managing unhappy feelings

Kids who are impulsive have trouble inhibiting their behaviors and responses. They react in a rapid way without thinking about the consequences. They go full swing into situations, are often accident prone, and tend to place themselves in potentially risky situations without thought – running out in the street to get a ball, climbing out the second floor window to see the view, being bitten by dogs whose space they have invaded and whose nose they have poked! The amount of constant supervision these little ones require can be exhausting for a parent and teacher.

As parents or teacher it helps to keep in mind that behavior is a problem, but the child isn't necessarily a behavior problem. So, the point is that kids with ADHD just don't think the problem through, they simply react and afterwards they may feel awful about what happened. Usually, their intentions are good, but the outcome of their behavior can create quite a bit of chaos because they are so driven by the moment.

Waiting turns and being patient is extremely difficult. The ability to delay a response, as well as delayed gratification or waiting for larger rewards is very hard for a child who is impulsive. They tend to interrupt, intrude and invade others space. Their life may feel so out of control at times that in order to counteract these feelings, they react by trying to have more control, becoming bossy and taking over charge of play with peers or in interactions with adults. Their behaviors can be very off-putting and they can certainly become aggressive and destructive, as they react impulsively to frustration with hitting, destroying or throwing things. Interactions can quickly become confrontational.

Impulsive kids often have a hard time regulating their feelings especially difficult feelings like anger and frustration. They may have frequent meltdowns or temper tantrums – that are not only more frequent than a child without ADHD but are also more intense and emotion filled. Their moods may be unpredictable – you may never know what you are going to get from day to day, hour to hour, or even minute to minute. One minute they may explode and then the next they are able to move on and are uncertain what the fuss is all about. On the other hand, they may explode and take a long time to settle and calm back down.

These kids can also be very sensitive - they feel things very deeply – wearing their heart on their sleeve. They can be very vulnerable and the transition to preschool can be quite challenging. Preschool is a time where children begin to socialize and learn about interacting and getting along with others. They need to learn how to interact in a group setting (cooperate, wait turns, share, delay gratification), but for kids with ADHD this can be a very difficult transition.

The impulsive behaviors may be viewed as demanding or selfish and can alienate others - especially when the child shows little remorse for his or her behaviors and doesn't seem to learn from mistakes. Excessive moodiness, quickness to anger, being easily upset by things, low adaptability, problems adjusting to change – these issues make day-to-day tasks and interactions all the more difficult.

Signs of Hyperactivity in Preschool Age Children

  • Moves about excessively
  • Fidgety, squirmy, wiggly
  • Perpetually on the go
  • Restless
  • Loud and disruptive
  • Like a chatter box, talking excessively

Hyperactivity is not only a high level of motor activity, but also disorganized and seemingly purposeless activity – chronic motor restlessness, moving about excessively, squirming, wiggling, fidgeting, falling out of chairs, climbing, running and jumping around - and doing so at inappropriate times in ways that are disruptive or bothersome when the child is supposed to be listening or sitting still.

These kids often seem like they are driven by a motor – they are perpetually on the go and constantly restless. Often they may be so squirmy that they cannot even be cuddled because they can't stay still long enough. They may be so active that slowing down long enough to eat or go to the bathroom is also challenging.

These little ones can be very loud and disruptive. They may talk incessantly, making sounds and noises, asking questions, and chattering on and on with a running commentary. They have extreme difficulty regulating their activity level and can't seem to stop themselves, and require almost constant redirection and interventions by parents and teachers.

Sleep is often an issue. It can be hard for these kids to settle down enough to go to sleep and then when they do sleep it is often very restlessly. They are often up and raring to go in the early hours of the morning. This again is very exhausting for parents...not to mention the symptoms of ADHD can worsen as the child doesn't get the sleep he or she needs. So, they are even more irritable, quick to frustrate, overactive, and distractible. Of course not all children with ADHD display this hyperactivity and impulsivity; there are actually three different types of ADHD – the Predominantly Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, the Predominantly Inattentive Type, and the Combined Type – in which the child exhibits both the inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive symptoms.

The hyperactivity and impulsivity, however, are typically noted as the main problems in these younger children. Attention issues usually become more noticeable when a child gets older, enters grade school and faces increased demands for sustained focus. Also, the hyperactive and impulsive behaviors tend to get noticed earlier simply because they are so much more disruptive.

Signs of Inattention in Preschool Age Children

  • Difficulty keeping attention on tasks or play activities
  • Easily distracted
  • Shifts from one unfinished activity to the next
  • Does not seem to listen when spoken to
  • Difficulty following directions
  • Often forgetful in daily activities
  • Plays alone, "in his or her own world"
  • Day dreamy

Signs of Autism

1. Doesn’t respond to his or her own name. A healthy baby will respond, usually by turning, when their own name is called by a caregiver. Only 20 percent of babies who are later diagnosed with signs of autism respond when their name is called.

2. Doesn’t engage “joint attention.” Joint attention is an early indication of language skills, because it suggests the ability to share something with another person. An example would be a child seeing an airplane in the sky, looking at the airplane, looking at his mother and then looking back at the plane as if to say, Do you see what I see.

3. Doesn’t imitate others’ behavior. Babies with autism are less likely to mirror another’s movements — smiling, waving or clapping, for instance — than typical babies.

4. Doesn’t engage in pretend play. A child’s love of playing pretend (for instance, playing “mother” to a baby doll or pretending a banana is a telephone) typically emerges around 2 or 3 years old. Children with autism, however, are less likely to engage with objects in this way.

5. Doesn’t respond emotionally. While typical babies are very sensitive to the emotions of others, babies with autism are less likely to smile in response to the smile of another, or to cry when they see another child crying.

What Parents Can Do

We advise parents to keep an eye out for these common red flags starting around the time their baby is 12 months old, and to talk to us at Shiloah if they have any concerns.

We want parents to know if they’re suspecting a developmental problem that there’s help out there,” “And there’s also hope. These kind of interventions really can make a difference.” Contact Shiloah Therapy and Learning Centre.

Signs of Autism in infants include:

  • Unusual visual fixations
  • Abnormal repetitive behavior
  • Lack of age-appropriate sound development
  • Delayed intentional communication
  • Low interest in social interactions