National Autism Plan For Children (NAPC): plan for the identification, assessment, diagnosis and access to early interventions for preschool and primary school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)1
| Warnings of possible ASD in school-age children: warning signs |
| Communication impairments |
| Abnormalities in language development including muteness |
| Odd or inappropriate prosody |
| Persistent echolalia |
| Reference to self as “you”, “she” or “he” beyond 3 years |
| Unusual vocabulary for child’s age/social group |
| Limited use of language for communication and/or tendency to talk freely only about specific topics |
| Social impairments |
| Inability to join in play of other children or inappropriate attempts at joint play (may manifest as aggressive or disruptive behaviour) |
| Lack of awareness of classroom “norms” (criticising teachers, overt unwillingness to cooperate in classroom activities, inability to appreciate or follow current trends) |
| Easily overwhelmed by social and other stimulation |
| Failure to relate normally to adults (too intense/no relationship) |
| Showing extreme reactions to invasion of personal space and resistance to being hurried |
| Impairments of interests, activities and/or behaviours |
| Lack of flexible cooperative imaginative play/creativity |
| Difficulty in organising self in relation to unstructured space (eg, hugging the perimeter of playgrounds, halls) |
| Inability to cope with change or unstructured situations, even ones that other children enjoy (school trips, teachers being away etc) |
| Other factors |
| Unusual profile of skills/deficits |
| Any other evidence of odd behaviours including unusual responses to sensory stimuli |
Reproduced with permission from Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN).7