Autistic Artists

I've been bad with keeping up with the blog lately.

A friend sent me this website and it really touched me.  It says a lot about Autism Spectrum Disorders without any words.  The imagery is beautiful.

Take a look:   Autistic Artists

I'll try to update more often.

Fever

John started running a fever yesterday. Today, when he woke up from his nap, he was "barking" in chest. I took him to the doctor and he is beginning to get croup. No wonder our week has been so bad. Most children's behavior is worse when they are sick. Autistic spectrum kids are no different. Many of the "stereotypical" behavioral patterns are worse when they are coming down with a cold, fever, or sickness of some sort. Our week has been terrible after such a good first two weeks of school. I feel bad for the little guy. Daddy comes home from his business trip on Saturday. Can life please return to "normal"!!!??? Thank you.

weighted blankets

I am researching weighted blankets and came across these sites. I am not endorsing them over any other site, but providing you links for you to easily access, read, and decide for yourself.

Weighted blankets are thought to calm, relax, and aid in sleeping for kids with Sensory Processing Disorder, who are anxious, have trouble sleeping, or crave deep pressure. They come as small as lap blankets to help a child sit still when seated at a table or desk, doing homework, busy work, computer time, listening to someone lecture/read/talk, or eat. They also have toddler size, twin, full, and queen sizes for sleeping. They come in different fabrics and with different amount of weight. Most OTs agree that the weight of the blanket should not be more than 10% of a child's body weight.

http://www.weightedblanket.net/index.htm Monthly Giveaway of a blanket
https://www.cozycalm.com/ Owned and Designed by a woman with Asperger's
http://www.quietquilt.com/ Owned and Designed by parents with a son on the Autistic spectrum
http://www.affordableweightedblankets.com/ Owned by grandparents of a boy with Autism who is non-verbal

Rough Days

Today John ran a fever. This could explain some of his erratic behavior over the last couple of days. I've noticed that when anything out of the ordinary makes John not feel well, the stereotypical behavior is brought to the forefront. With my husband out of town on business and John coming down with something, we have had a rough day every day since Monday.

Today, John was triggered when my mom wasn't staying for dinner. He wanted her to eat with us, but she was heading to her home to eat. He purposely spilled his orange juice, which then set him off, bolting to another room, spinning in circles, crying and disrupting "order" by taking balls out of the ball pit and throwing them. He was put in a time out, but wouldn't stand against the wall and ran to the freezer, opening and closing the door. A second attempt sent him bolting to the ball pit, throwing his whole body clumsily into the edge and over the top, laying very still saying "mommy don't take me out. no time out." I told him he had a few minutes to calm down and then he needed to finish the time out. It took coaxing and a stronger will than his and I managed to get through the time out. As soon as the timer beeped, the smile appeared on his face and he came to me for the hug. The beep of the timer not only ends the time out, but is ending the behavior. I need to use that.

Documenting - September 2009

It's been awhile since I've written, and one reason that brought me back was the documentation journal that this blog provided me. The other is the outlet to get it all off my chest.

The summer overall was rough as we began seeing behavioral problems surface in John that we hadn't had before. We have analyzed each week with our own interpretations, biases, and "Best Guesses". Some of the reasonings we used were the lack of schedule and routine, too much high fructose corn syrup in his diet, a delayed developmental phase of terrible twos that appeared inappropriate for our almost 4-year old son, John discovering and learning where the discipline line was, etc.

Some of the things we have begun to see are:

• bolting to a different room in the house when something is upsetting, and "destroying" organization in that room, whether that be dumping books, blocks, or toys on the floor, ripping up paper, spilling a glass of juice on purpose, pushing the ice maker dispenser button so ice hits the floor, or banging a toy on a glass window.
• out of control emotional responses to his feelings
• inability to re-gain composure with an intense emotional meltdown that includes hurting himself during discipline (bumping head on wall, slamming hands on different surfaces)
• anger management issues
• Emotional responses leading to above behavior when someone tells him he can't do something
• whimpering and withdrawing when triggered
  
• preference to go to sleep when upset (another withdrawing sign)
• Disinterest in potty training anymore, regressing to almost infancy again
• Pushing mattress off bed and sleeping on box springs, preferring the weight of the mattress on legs and back at times (sensory pressure)
• Fleeing in opposite direction in public when he was upset and didn't want to be where we were, with no regard for safety
  

In response to this, we visited the autistic specialist again, looking for advice for schooling (since we've been denied services through the school district), advice for the behavior at home, and advice about his clumsiness/ankle issues. (John kept twisting his ankle all summer; x-rays show nothing, but his ankles and feet physically look like they are growing improperly).

The doctor suggested a few things - speech therapy, occupational therapy to deal with sensory issues, an in home educator who can help with behavior issues, separation issues from me (since he was having a hard time at the end of the school year with fleeing to the parking lot looking for me, or wandering to Katie's classroom to find her), and a one-on-one aide in the classroom. We are also set to see an Orthopedist at the end of September for his ankles because she does agree that his ankles seem to be too floppy, no muscle tone, and are growing wrong.

Well, that all sounds fine, but when you are denied service, all of the cost for that therapy comes out of pocket. Occupational therapy is recommended 2 times a week at one hour each. I have been quoted up to $190/hour for this service. (that would be almost $400 a week for OT alone) We opted for an in-home teacher at $65/hour to get started.

We enrolled John at two preschools. On Monday and Friday, he goes to the school he went to last year, but we put him in with his own age. Last year, we put him in with the kids who were learning to talk since speech was so new, but he was with kids 1-1.5 years younger than him. So, this year, he is still the oldest in his class, but he's with the kids that turn 4 this school year. He's also at La Verne Parent Participation Preschool (LVPPP) on Tuesday and Thursday.

The first 2 weeks of school were awesome! He was soooo good! Anxiety caused him to chew on his shirt during class, but he had NO OTHER ISSUES at all!!! He has even got to a point where he is close to being potty trained again. It was even reported to me that he consoled a girl who was crying because she got hurt and he told her he'd hold her hand until she felt better. (He actually noticed someone else upset, recognized it, made the effort to socialize, and accurately followed through - way to go John!) Last Friday, Bonita Unified School District special education came and observed him because I appealed the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) last June. He did well that day.

Last Thursday, my husband left for a business trip in China and John came down with a cold. We've been trying to video conference through Skype so the kids can see Bill. John really likes it. The last two days have been draining. When we arrived at preschool, John began riding the bike around the playground the wrong way. He was corrected and told to go the right way. He got off his bike and began walking backwards around the playground, making his way to the bathroom. I was talking to his teacher and I saw this. I followed him, afraid he was looking to run down the hall. Instead, he said he had to go poopy. So, I stepped back to let him go. He started flushing the toilets over and over. I went over to him and asked him what was wrong. He wouldn't look at me and didn't say much. He said he wanted to wash his hands "all by himself" and then go home, so I told him I would sit on the bench and wait for him to wash his hands. then I would let him play on the playground and I would not leave him. I sat on the bench right outside the bathroom door as he watched me. He then turned to the sink and began angrily pushing the soap dispenser making a huge soapy mess in the bathroom. I ran back in and began cleaning it asking him what was wrong and he took off running down the hall. I finally found him in a classroom just standing near a shelf. He told me "I'm having a hard time. School is too crowded". I told him we'd go home.

At home, I set up an obstacle course in the living room, creating a surface to run through out of a memory foam mattress (which we called the mud), had him climb over the ottoman (the mountain), jump into the 4 hula loops laying on the ground, crawl on the box springs of the couch, slide down a cushion, push two exercise balls across the room, and bounce 10 times on another bouncy ball. He did this about 4 or 5 times, each time getting more and more tired. I made him finish the last one, which was a struggle (he went to his room wanting a nap), but he was very excited when he finished his last "Lap", asking for high tens, saying "I DID IT".

Today, he had LVPPP. He was excited to go because it was his share day. Each kid gets one day where they get to take the share bag home and are given a special color. They have to bring 5 objects that are that color and share it with the class. John got blue so he got to bring legos, Thomas the Train, a book, a post office wooden structure we have, and a car. He was ready. We got to school and he was supposed to "sign" in, a ritual they have the kids do. He was signing in the wrong area and he was corrected. He started "stabbing" the paper with the marker, then scribbled all over it, pushed the table around and then started writing all over the floor. I went to grab him and begun cleaning it up, when he ran to the other side of the classroom and started throwing the blocks all around the room. Parents were staring in shock, while the teacher and I dealt with it. A little girl came up to John and told him that he shouldn't throw when he's mad. The teacher is very good with John and she turned to me and told me she would call me if he wasn't doing well. I left and John had a few "sensory" things come up (where he wanted to use his hands in the paint instead of brushes, took off his shoes in the sand, etc.), but no more behavioral issues.

Tonight at home, John became out of control again, running around the house, destroying order and organization. I gave him a time out, during which, he was jumping up and down, throwing himself on the floor, and carrying on. I kept adding a minute every time he'd bang his head or slam his hands on the wall. Once the timer went off, the tears stopped, a huge smile came over his face and he ran to me for his "after time out hug". It's almost as if the timer beep is what he can use to bring the anger under control.

What I didn't know until later today was that Bonita Unified School district showed up yesterday at his preschool again for a second day of observation, that I was unaware of. She called today because she heard I had to take John home. So, I told her about the last two days. They are gong to observe him again next Monday.

I'm a video editor and I'm working on a large project on a Documentary on the Life of Fr. Damien. He is being named a Saint in October. We received a St. Damien medal recently and John has taken a fond interest in it. I also made duplications for a priest of the Damien chaplets with the prayers and songs you can say to Damien, asking him to pray to God and intercede on your behalf. The chaplets I made were on CD, so every once in awhile, I pull one out of the bunch and put it in to make sure the duplication burn was good. So, John has heard it play a lot. He learned the song before I did. He now takes his Damien medal to bed with him, and sings the song. I pray with him and it's cute to hear him ask Jesus and Fr. Damien for a "marigold" (miracle). I want to help John so much. He is doing so well from where we began 18 months ago, gaining speech, cognitive skills, reading skills, etc. But, emotionally, he's lost. There is this cloud that comes over him, his sensory information gets in the way at times, and he is out of sorts. I feel so bad for him and just want more than anything to give him peace and take away the anxiety he feels. The best I can do for him right now is pray that he gets his marigold.

Moving Forward

We met with the autistic specialist again and here were her recommendations:

1. In Home Behavioral Program - to deal with social anxiety, separation anxiety, emotional control, eye contact issues, and potty training

2. OT and Speech Sessions (out of pocket)

3. One-on One Aide in Classroom to assist with re-direction and help him maintain focus and attention

4. Orthopedic to look at his feet and ankles, which are weak and turning inward.

New Trigger Discoveries

We have made huge progress over the last year and as John's language continues to develop, I am noticing new triggers to his behavior. He is know able to communicate his feelings better, so I am able to understand some of the "why" s behind his behavior. It seems that separation anxiety and social anxiety are playing a HUGE role in how he behaves in public. In the home, he communicates better, socializes better, and is more animated. It seems to be an INTENSE shyness in public that is hindering his pragmatic speech and social development.

As noted by the neuro-psycologist, he has a social interest, but he tends to be on the outside watching in, trying to figure out how to break in. If I am with him, he wants me to hold him and if someone talks to him, he often will answer and then bury his head in my shoulder, with a feeling of being shy.

We've seen progress over the last few months with social communication. He acknowledges other children with hellos and goodbyes. He answers questions when he is asked, often in a full sentence. For example, "John are you OK?" He responds, "Yes, I ok." as opposed to just "yes". He is asking his own questions now, which was a huge step for him. He is very good at asking for something he wants me to get him, using language instead of taking me to the object.

He has joined a MY GYM gymnastics class, which he loves and will be attending a Parent Participation PreSchool in the fall, which emphasizes on social integration rather than academics. Academically, John is taking everything in and is doing very well. He counts to 200, reads digital clocks, understands time, knows bigger and smaller, counts objects, sight reads 50-100 words, knows every street in La Verne and can tell you how to get to certain locations by telling him where you are starting and where you want to go. He almost seems to have a photographic memory when it comes to directions and reading. His favorite toys or things to do right now are cars, the computer, riding his bike, and reading books. His favorite book right now is "Llama Llama misses Mama", which is another reason that makes me think that separation anxiety is a problem for him. He likes to look at the pictures and talk about the Llama going to school and being dropped off by his mom and not knowing what to do when she's not there. The book's lesson is that Llama can love his Mama, but he can also love school if he gives his friends and teachers a chance....and that Mama always comes back. He loves screaming the line in the book that reads "Mama, you came back!"

NeuroPsych Evalutation Report

We received the evaluation report from Dr. Seibert regarding John's evaluation from Feb-April.
At the time of this test, John is considered 3 years, 2 months old.
Listed below are some of the highlights from the 12 page report:

Areas of concern defined by parents:
1.He needs to be taught certain things that other kids seem to pick up naturally
2. Demonstrates some echolalia (repeats the ends of some questions when asked)
3. Preoccupations with narrow areas of interest and focus (in phases)
examples: clocks, lining up cars, left-turn arrows, train tracks,& reading clothing tags
4. Frustration tantrums -- problems managing anger
5. Craves sensory stimuli (specifically with hands/touch, chew non-food items)
6. Trouble with eating (messy eater, prefers to use hands, overstuffs mouth)

Areas of concern Socially:
1. Limited eye contact
2. Unable to show comfort to others in distress
3. Some pretend play
4. mostly parallel play

Areas of Concern defined by Current Teachers:
1. Little Attention Span
2. Easily Destracted
3. Limited Spontaneous Speech
4. Limited to no interaction with other children
5. Loves sensory activities (finger painting, eating with hands, feet in sand)
6. Limited interest in classroom when given free time (lines up cars or 'reads' a book)
7. Delayed academically
8. No eye contact

Things the teachers did not notice:
1. No strange or odd preoccupations
2. No behavior problems
3. No transition tantrums

Observation In the Clinic over 2 observation days:
1. No tantrums or upsets
2. mild mannered
3. Reduced eye contact
4.quiet most of the time, with only one-word utterances
5. Poor intelligibility of speech
6. Fairly distractible, but was able to maintain focus if sitting on lap, bounced, or squeezed

Observation at School:
1. John did not remain on carpet square during storytime and had to sit on teacher's lap to maintain focus
2. Wandered room
3. Responded to yes/no questions
4. Kids lined up to wash hands, John consistently wandered out of line; needed re-direction
5. Food placed in front of him, told to wait, kept putting hands in spaghetti; needed to be reminded to wait multiple times
6. Facial expression blunted most of the time
7. Complied with verbal instruction but never made eye contact; appeared not to be paying attention, but would respond appropriately
8. Messiest eater in the class
9. After lunch, wandered over to line up cars
10. Wandered to book area, opened book, sat down, and "read" it
11. On playground, rode tricycle alone most of the time
12. Smiled at girl who climbed on "caboose" of tricycle
13. Stopped bike purposely to have 2 other girls crash into him; all giggled; John repeated again
14. Gravitated to outskirts of playground most of time
15. Seemed to be "in his own world"

ADOS test (Austim Diagnostic observation Schedule):
1. John responded to name by turning toward examiner
2. Poor eye contact; used eye contact to get the examiner to do something again
3. Showed some shared enjoyment with examiner, but not consistent; interested mostly in having sole control over a toy; needed to be re-engaged to play with examiner
4. Did not spontaneously give objects to examiner; but would comply after repeated requests
5. Could show functional use of toys when prompted but did not demonstrate any symbolic play on own
6. Did not initiate any social interactions, but did not mind the examiner playing alongside him
7. Produced single word utterances, most not intelligible
8. Showed only occasional, unusaual sensory behavior -- objects in mouth
9. According to ADOS, fell within the spectrum, but not autism, per se

GARS test completed by parents scored an 81 -- meaning "possibly" has autism

Other Tests Administered:

• DAS-II - Differential Ability Scales - Verbal & Non-Verbal Cognitive Development; John scored in the 66th percentile for Verbal Comprehension (average) and 58th percentile for Naming Vocabulary (also average); For the Non_verbal section, he scored in the average for Picture Similarities, but scored mildly impaired on Pattern Contruction; His total scores for this test was a 96, and fell within the average range (39th percentile)
• Although the examiner felt that the scores need to take in account that John had a very low attention span, needed frequent re-direction to the tasks at hand, cues to remind him to persist in his effort, prompting to consider the full range of answer chocies before responding, etc.
• PLS-4 - PreSchool Language Scale - measures comprehension and expressive language skills; John's auditory comprehension scored of that of a 2-year 11 month old child (average range for his age) Most advanced skills he showed was the ability to distinguish activities that were day from activities at night. He could understand picture analogies, identified objects, identified colors and common activities, understood quantitive concepts (one vs. all), and descriptive concepts (big vs. small) Could follow 2 step commands, but COULD NOT show spatial concepts (on, off, in, out of), pronouns (I, me, you) or negatives (show me the baby that is not crying) His scores resulted in that of a 2-year 8 month old, which is on the low average for his age range.
• VABS-II - Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale - questionnaire filled out by parents; day-to-day functioning;
  
• Communication scored low at 1 year 11 months;
  
• Expressive Language scored at 2 years, 10 months;
  
• Written Language was HIGH at 4 years, 3 months - able to recognize upper and lowercase alphabet, own written name in printed form;
  
• Daily Living Skills ---
  
• Personal Care-2 years 9 months,
  
• Domestic Care - 2 years, 2 months;
  
• Community Functioining HIGH at 4 years 5 months
  
• SOCIAL skills - low at 1 year, 7 months;
  
• Play behaviors -1 year, 10 months
• Coping - 2 years, 7 months
• Fine Motor - 3 years, 5 months

DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSIONS:

• Basic Language skills have caught up to low average-average range, he still shows delays in speech intelligibility, as well as in pragmatic use of language in social/communicative ways
• Delays in age-appropriate social and play behaviors
• Shows some atypical restricted and repetitive behaviors
• Falls short of Autism Diagnosis at this time
• However, meets criteria for PDD-NOS, Pervasive Developmental Delay, Not Otherwise Specified, otherwise known as "atypical autism"
• He has shown signs that intervention boosts his progress

RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Parents should request an IEP (Individulaized Educational Plan) from Bonita Unified School District based on this second opinion requesting:

• Placement in a classroom with a better teacher-to-student ratio than a typical educational classroom; Should have curriculum appropriate for average-range overall intellectual level, but with resources that meets his needs for supervision, assistance, difficulties for sustained attention, and facilitation for social activities OR in a regular classroom with a one-on-one aide
• John clearly needs speech therapy to address intelligibility and language pragmatics
• John should receive an OT evaluation to address sensory issues and motor skills concerns

2. Parents should re-apply through regional center for services that may benefit them in the community based programs
3. Parents should seek additional play and social opportunities and instruction for John with peers close in age; John needs facilitation to initiate and sustain engagement with other children and verbal cues to help him play
4. Seek parent education and support services

Articles on Autism & A Poem

I have some current news articles on autism.

Here is a USA Today article that talk about how some kids with autism can recover and become undiagnosed.

Here is an article from Time on a genetic clue that may eventually explain why autism affects boys rather than girls.

I also found a poem that touched me. Read below.

Walk With Me

Walk in my shoes
for one single day.
Then you'll see why
I need to pray.
Come live in my home
for a week or two
and then remember
I am just like you.
I didnt ask for the things I was given
I didnt choose this road I have taken
Walk a mile with me hand in hand
Then perhaps you will understand.

I'm not really complaining
about the stress in my life,
I know that we all have
some toil and some strife.
But walk with me, when you think
I am wrong, walk with me
and you'll start to belong.
Embrace my sorrows,
like they are your own,
And then you will know me
And see I have grown.

The journey I take
is different from yours
My life took one of those
unexpected detours,
But this road that I travel
is not really so long,
If the people who watch me
will join in my song.
Listen to my footsteps
and watch how I dance
And then you will know me
and give me a chance.

Take heart and remember
It can happen to you,
who knows where my pathway
will cross over to you?
So speak to me softly
if you can't understand
Remember I once stood
right there where you stand.
And walk with me gently
when the day is at end.
And then I will know
I can call you my friend.

copyright 1999
Sally Meyer

Official Diagnosis: PDD-NOS

I haven't received the official report from Dr. Siebert yet, but after testing, John has received an official diagnosis of PDD-NOS (pervasive developmental delay, not otherwise specified). She suggests that he attend a communications delayed preschool. Once I get the full report, I will update the blog with her findings.

2 articles on CNN

CNN had 2 stories on Autism today.

Find them here and here.

The first one is a case of PDD-NOS, which is what I believe is going to be John's diagnosis.

PRETEND PLAY

There was a time months ago that it didn't exist, so when I see my son growing with 'pretend play', it makes me burst with pride.

This morning, he was gathering objects in his little shopping cart from around the house. He placed them all on the counter of the play kitchen we have. He grabbed his pretend cash register, equipped with scanner, and proceeded to scan each item and then throw them in the shopping cart. I asked him what he was doing and he said "shopping at Vons". About a minute later he said he was "paying" and then pushed the cart really fast down the hallway, saying "bye mommy, I'm going home"!

He was so excited, but I think I was more.

Occupational Therapy

I am often asked what Occupational Therapy is, so I thought I'd go into detail in today's blog post.

Occupational Therapy, also known as OT, (according to Wikipedia) incorporates meaningful and purposeful occupation to enable people with limitations or impairments to participate in everyday life.

According to About.com, Occupational Therapy actually deals with strengthening fine motor skills, like writing, cutting, shoe-tying and using utensils. For adults recovering from an accident or stroke, that may include work-related skills; for children, whose "occupation" is school and play, it will focus more sharply on developmental milestones and skills required for playground and academic activities. Occupational therapists working with children typically use techniques and routines that may seem like play, but are designed to target areas of delay and difficulty. Some occupational therapists are also trained in therapy with a sensory integration approach (SI), which uses play-like activities to help children better process and tolerate the information they get through their senses.

John would spend his hour of OT swinging on different types of swings, climbing, working through obstacle courses, hanging on a trapeze bar, jumping in ball pit, jumping on trampoline, walking on different textures, riding a tricycle, throwing balls, working on fine motor skills, and sometimes, working on eating issues.

Neuro-Psych Evaluation

To bring everybody up-to-date:
John was diagnosed as "at risk" for autism at 30 months old by Regional Center
When he turned 3, he was evaluated by the school district, who said they do not see a developmental delay or signs of autism that impact education and denied any special educational services.
Regional Center then told us that since he had "provisional" or "at risk" autism to begin with, there never was a diagnosis in the first place.

SO --- we are going through a medical doctor, a neuro-psych to find out if John needs a diagnosis or not. Both Regional Center and the school district determine funding, so we thought we needed another opinion by someone who had nothing to do with funding.

The assessment will consist of parent and teacher questionnaires and interviews, as well as a few days of evaluation of John in different settings and at school, with other kids. We've had 2 sessions already and am looking forward to her assessment.

2 new websites

It's been awhile since I've written, but I've come across 2 new websites that I thought were worth mentioning.


http://www.adaptivechild.com/index.html
and
http://www.weightedvestsforchildren.com/weighted-vests-for-children.html

Show & Tell: John's Last Day at Casa Colina

My boy has graduated!

Signs to look For

I received an email with a question regarding someone who believed a family member might have a child with autism. She was interested in learning more about autism and things you could look for to see if the issues that were being observed could be related to autism. So, I thought I'd take a portion of the email I wrote to her and discuss some of the signs or red flags one might notice in a child as he/she are developing.

Some signs to look for (every autistic kid does not have every one of these -- the severity of the autism has to do with how much, how often and how many of them):

Age Appropriate Toys -- does the child play with age appropriate toys or still hold on to baby toys or cause and effect toys (by 3, children should move on to more imaginary play toys like cars, dolls, action figures, drawing, etc)
Tip toe walking --- some do, some don't, but it is a sign of autism
Hand flapping --- some do, some don't, but another sign of autism (often referred to as "self stimulating behavior" -- if over stimulated, the child may wave his hands up by his face to show excitement or nervousness)
Eye Contact --- many children with autism have no eye contact issues with family and close friends/relatives, but can't look strangers or acquaintances in the eyes -- they may glance, but nothing sustained
Joint attention -- does the child point to objects when asked (whether in a book or out on a walk, like point to the tree, or fire hydrant or stop sign) they look for finger pointing -- actual single finger pointing to an object - autistic children often do not point out things and have "poor joint attention", only picking and choosing what to draw their attention to
Interest in things that spin --- many children will spin themselves (another form of self stimulating behavior, but do not get dizzy); others like objects that spin and will stare at it for unusually long periods of time
Appropriate use of everyday objects -- does the child know how to use a hair brush on a doll or self, or know that a spoon is used to stir, -- autistic kids often need to be taught about what an object is used for and these kids do not learn by imitation; how do they play with cars -- line them up & stare at the pattern or spinning the tires are 2 signs that they look for
Interest in shiny objects --- many kids will stare for unusually long periods to shiny objects
Attention span- many autistic kids have a very short attention span; many can't sit through the reading of a book or show no interest in books as infants/toddlers
Chewing/Mouthing objects -- many autistic kids chew or mouth objects as tiny babies without teeth would do; these kids have shirt collars constantly in their mouths, seatbelt straps, toys, etc.
Interest in new toys - does the child have a hard time wanting or knowing what to do with a new toy; does the child show interest in the new toy or pick it up and then move on
Attention to task - this one has to do with two extremes --- either the child bounces from one task to another without long attention or the child is sooo attentive to the task that they can't move away from it or won't do anything else -- both extremes are signs of autism like behavior
Response to own name - a majority of the time will ignore their own name when called
Speech/Language - Most autistic kids have some sort of language or speech delay; extreme cases never gain speech; some have cognitive/receptive issues; others have pronunciation; many/most have both; almost all are late talkers
Dietary Concerns - many kids are "sickly"; have food allergies, bowel issues, stomach problems; weight loss/weight gain; picky eaters; many hate textured foods; many need food purified -- each need is different but there is usually some sort of "feeding" issue one way or another; some are messy eaters and don't know how to use utensils correctly, others can, but prefer to use hands,
**Sensory Issues - Most kids have some sort of Sensory Integration issues which is the source of the manifestation of some of the above listed behaviors -- the brain processing the sensory information received through the senses incorrectly -- some are "sensory seekers", constantly looking for sensory input -- these kids are "crashing into" things like furniture and people's legs; they might spin and not get dizzy; they love "messy" play like paint and glue and might put it all over their hands and arms -- others "avoid" all the sensory input -- they might hate touching certain textures, glue, sand, etc. --- then on the auditory side, they may fear loud noises, including hair dryers or toilets flushing, while the other extreme is that they don't even notice sound and seem like they might have 'hearing' issues, but test within range for hearing (hence not reacting to own name);
on the sensory issues -- there are a ton -- other issues may be poor gross motor skills -- may walk unstably, may have a hard time avoiding obstacles, may avoid or seek swinging for long periods of time, may feel more "grounded" with feet always touching the floor, so can't sit still at a chair with feet up or on a toilet without feet touching a stool

I have a good book that talks about sensory issues that is a good introduction into children that just seem to be a bit different -- not necessarily autistic, but have Sensory Processing Disorder. It's called The Out of Sync Child by Carol Stock Kranowitz. She also wrote a companion book called The Out of Sync Child has fun, which is a workbook that teaches parents tips to practice in the home to help your child overcome the sensory issues. The good news is that if it's Sensory Processing Disorder by itself, then there are things that you can do that helps the child and makes it go away. Many kids with autism have Sensory Processing Disorder, but not every child with it has Autism. It is a good resource for a parent to read who has just begun to understood their child is a bit "different".