“My child just speaks slowly; as the saying goes, a noble person’s speech is delayed…”
In a recent survey, many parents of children with autism expressed that discovering their child’s autism and acknowledging it are two completely different concepts. For parents who cannot accept their child has autism, they prefer to believe that their child is simply experiencing “developmental delays.”
Developmental delays and autism are interconnected yet independent; below are the specific differences between the two:
1. Ability to express one’s thoughts. Children with language developmental delays may have poor verbal skills, but they can express their thoughts through body language and other means; children with autism face various issues related to language, logic, content, and form, and do not express their thoughts.
2. Ability to establish social relationships. Although both have problems with language expression, children with language developmental delays can communicate and play with other children through body language and other methods, establishing social relationships; children with autism, on the other hand, are indifferent to the outside world and lack motivation and desire for interaction.
3. Ability to imitate. Children with language developmental delays may find it difficult to imitate spoken language, but they can mimic facial expressions and actions; children with autism find it quite difficult to imitate language, actions, and expressions.
4. Ability to create joint attention. Children with language developmental delays can use pointing and recognition methods to show parents and those around them things they are interested in; children with autism do not share with others and will not pay attention to what we focus on.
