23. Does Not Seem to Have Any Fear
When confronted with something frightening, toddlers with autism show less fear than typical children or those with developmental delay. This absence of fear may explain why autistic babies frequently rush into traffic or deep bodies of water. “I think this has a huge impact on the safety issues we find in children,” said lead researcher Katarzyna Chawarska, head of the Yale Toddler Developmental Disabilities Clinic. “Autistic toddlers are always in risk because they don’t understand threats.” The researchers also discovered that autistic toddlers are just as easily entertained as regular youngsters and those with developmental delays. [They are also no more likely than the control groups to appear afraid or furious during a circumstance intended to elicit delight. When placed in frustrating settings, they are more prone [than toddlers with developmental delays] to become upset. According to parent accounts, children with autism have either a neutral or negative reaction to emotional circumstances. Based on these findings, kids on the autism spectrum should have either no reaction to any of the stimuli or greater fear and less delight than controls. Autistic children are known to be anxious, which would imply that they are more scared than ordinary youngsters. “The discovery raises extremely interesting questions,” says Matthew Siegel, associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, who was not involved in the study.
If you believe your child may be exhibiting symptoms of autism, don’t wait. Make an appointment with your pediatrician as soon as possible, and ask if autism may be the cause of some of the behaviors your child is exhibiting, or the cause of the milestones they have not been able to reach.
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