Unique Child
- Delays and differences in developing language.
- Difficulty engaging or understanding non-verbal communication. E.g., eye contact, pointing or joint attention.
- May have little interest in communication.
- Limited pretend play skills.
- Difficulty with joint attention.
- Speech is frequently limited to repeating what is heard (echolalia).
- Difficulty understanding simple instructions, without environmental or situational cues, or responses are slow and inconsistent.
- Difficulties making friends and joining in group activities or playing with peers.
- Difficulty generalising language.
- Sensory processing differences.
- ECAT assessment shows delay in social communication (alert to checkpoint statements).
Practitioners need to have a robust knowledge of child development to enable them to understand children’s developmental needs and identify when children are experiencing delays or differences in their development. Practitioners may identify social communication difficulties in communication with parents or carers and notice the child experiencing difficulties in a range of areas such as language, interaction, social communication, play skills and sensory processing. Observations and assessment procedures such as the two-year-old check will support the practitioner to further identify and supporting needs. Assessment tools can effectively supplement this when a practitioner has a good understanding of development.
A diagnosis of autism may only be made by a qualified medical professional, (such as a community paediatrician) and practitioners should be careful to avoid using terms such as autistic, autistic traits or autism until a formal diagnosis is obtained.
Practitioners should identify the areas the child has needs in and make a referral to early support to explore this further if appropriate.
For all children:
For children who have suspected or confirmed social communication difficulties or autism, it may be useful to supplement any assessment tools the setting is using with the Cambridgeshire Practitioner Developmental Journal (available on the Knowledge Hub). It is important to note that children who have developmental needs in this area may have assessments that have gaps and spikes in their skills which may prove challenging to interpret, this is however useful information in understanding the child’s developmental profile.
Whilst not an assessment tool for children this document can be useful (particularly when used alongside training and other AET Documents) to support practitioners in responding to the needs of autistic children in the setting.
- AET Framework Documents can be used by anyone working alongside autistic children to support the development of good autism practice.
