The purpose of this guide is to help parents to know if their child has autism. It is so hard to tell if a three year old has autism because the spectrum is so large. Some children may just seem a little weird and others may almost seem to be mentally impaired. Many times children may have autism plus something else like ADHD or a mental delay.Many tendencies (autistic behaviors) are almost typical for this age group. Autism is a condition in which children learn differently and react to the stimulus around them. So many adults have autistic tendencies and do not even realize it. The thing you need to ask yourself is, "Do these behaviors prevent my three year old from learning, communicating and getting along with others?"

So you wonder, what are the tendencies. First thing I do is watch the child. I may sit down with a blank piece of paper and just write down everything the child does and says. Think of the 5 senses and write down what is he touching, etc. Here are some things you might write:

• He comes in and walks over to a truck.
• He picks up several of them and puts them in a line.
• Another person asks him, "What is your name? He says, "Name?
• He continues to look at the truck and never looks at the person.

Once you do this you can compare it to a list of tendencies. There are many lists on several autism websites, but here is mine.

1. Play with toys without a purpose. For example lines them up or dumps them out and puts them back in. Children with autism is my classroom play with books, see and says, blocks, trucks and puzzles. They mostly have a beginning and an end of play and are predictable.
2. They lack eye contact. They may look you in the eye for awhile, but will soon turn away.
3. If they are verbal, they will label all their feelings the same.
4. They will often repeat what you say. Especially when you ask them a question. They know they are supposed to response but they don't know how.
5. They will either seek sensory input (lots of hugging, playing in sand, lots of running or jumping, washing hands a million times, chew on their clothes) or they are withdrawn (gags when they smell food, scream when you just touch them, they don't want to hold your hand, they throw  a tantrum when the fire alarm goes off) or they may have both.
6. They are routine driven and get very upset if it is changed. It may seem like they are throwing tantrums for no reason, but as they get older they are able to tell you more, something was not the same.
7. They are visual learners. They will respond to your direction better if you show them a picture. For example your child will not sit down even though you have talked to them and reasoned with them forever, then as soon as you show them a picture of a person sitting down, they do it.
8. Another clue for me is that they will watch TV forever. You think wow my kid is so good and he can pay attention to the TV, computer and video game. But this is also a tendency.
9. Some parents think wow my child is genius. He can name all his letters and numbers and he is only 3. Remember autistic children are visual learners and this is safe for them. Try to put that knowledge into some productive like, "Yes, that is an 8. Now go get me 8 chips." They might not be able to do it or they may not be able to learn the sounds of letters or know you use a letter to make words that you read.

Just remember that if your child has only one or two tendencies then it may not be autism. But if they have several and it effects their life, then you may want to get help. There is so much help out there that it is a shame not to get it. I know you scared that people will think that your child different, but if their behavior is bad then people already think that. Remember, what is best for my child! They need the help that a diagnoses can get them. There is so much out there on autism so keep looking. I hope you find this helpful from a preschool special needs teacher. Remember this is just advice and you should seek the advice of your child's teacher and doctor.