A New Jersey-based counselor, Maria Kechaidis serves as co-founder and clinical director of OMNI Behavioral Health Solutions, LLC. In this capacity, she provides intensive counseling and needs assessments to children and families involved in the New Jersey Children’s System of Care. Maria Kechaidis also maintains an interest in treating Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and earned a certificate in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA).
The signs of ASD often start appearing in infancy and early childhood. Since infants cannot speak, most of the symptoms that appear at this young age are non-verbal in nature. Babies and toddlers with ASD will not respond to familiar voices or to their own name. Further, they will struggle with making eye contact in various scenarios. It’s also common to see babies and toddlers with ASD not imitate facial expressions and movements of their parents, or care if parents are hurt.
As children develop, there are several red flags associated with ASD. At six months, children with an autism disorder will not smile or show a joyful expression. They will continue to not respond to their name by age 1, and will likely not say any words until around 16 months. They won’t start saying meaningful two-word phrases at 2 years, as is normal.
Once kids are older, the signs and symptoms of ASD become more diverse and focus around specific disorders contained within the spectrum. However, most symptoms still revolve around social difficulties, speech challenges, non-verbal communication problems (such as preferring not to be touched), using a strange voice to speak, and facial expressions that don’t match what’s being said.
