Movemeber - Week Four

It is amazing to think that November has already come and gone, which means that Movember has come and gone too! How sad... It has really been fun growing out my facial hair for a reason this year instead of what I normally do, which is to just grow it out anyway! Be all of that as it may, this is the last Movember post this year (check out the other posts here: ONE, TWO, THREE) and I thought that it would be beneficial for everyone to know something about early awareness and autism. Study after study has shown that children that have their autims diagnosed early have better communicative skills later in life than those who have been diagnosed at later ages.

So what are some red flags for which parents should be looking? Here are a few:

• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by six months or thereafter
• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles, or other facial expressions by nine months or thereafter
• No babbling by 12 months
• No back-and-forth gestures, such as pointing, showing, reaching, or waving by 12 months
• No words by 16 months
• Loss of speech
• No two-word meaningful phrases (without imitating or repeating) by 24 months
• Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age
  

It should be noted carefully though that the fact that your child or a child you know exhibits some of these things does not necessarily mean that he or she has autism. Instead, if you think any of these things apply to your child then it would be wise to ask your pediatrician about having your child evaluated. What could it hurt? Nothing at all. But delaying the evaluation could put a parent in a position to lose a lot indeed. (Check this site out for more information about early awareness of autism.)

And in case you were wondering how I look now after a full month of beard growth (the pic at the top of the post is from the end of the third week of Movemember), then here you go:

I think it is safe to say that my beard is getting a bit unruly! Thanks for reading these Movemember posts!