Hindsight is 20/20, they say. When Pookie was young, we did not notice that he never really pointed at things. He liked to play with us, but he never did much to get our attention. He would not yell for “Mom” or “Dad.” He never excitedly pointed out doggies or ice cream trucks. We know now that these things are called “joint attention” skills and they have a lot to do with learning how to socially interact with others. Pointing to something means you want someone else to notice it too and that you want to share that experience with them.

Typically developing kids learn these naturally. A parent excitedly points at a doggie and says “look at the big doggie!”. After a few times, the kid learns to do the same. With autistic children, that does not happen. We had to show Pookie how to make a pointer finger. Sometimes he makes the pointer finger and then brings it up to his eyes, closely studying it like “what in the world is this thing for?” We have to ask him to point to things, but he is doing very well. We make him practice a lot. When we read to him, we ask him where things are on the page. We ask him to point to his choice when deciding between the red and blue cup. The more we practice, the more likely he is to do it on his own someday. But right now, he points only to satisfy our requests. In the photo above, we asked him where the monkeys were and he pointed to them.

Because autistic children do not develop the same social skills as typically developing children, this is an important thing. Its small, compared to the ability to make small talk and observe personal space, but its still important. Its really one of the first things a child needs to know in order to move in social circles at all. So, we will start with pointing.

Here is an interesting article on the very early warning signs of autism. Many of these things are easy to miss.  I do not know if this article would have been enough to make us notice, but that’s really a moot point and I choose not to dwell on it.  Pookie started getting services a bit after his 3rd birthday.  I think we acted when his signs started to plainly show, but an earlier diagnosis is always best.