Written by the Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center therapy team · medically reviewed by Dr Muhammad Suffyan, MB BS (GMC 8023727) · Last reviewed July 2026
The early signs of autism in children show up in how a child connects, not in anything you can see. A toddler who does not turn when you call their name, rarely points at things to show you, plays the same way over and over, and is thrown by noise or by a change of routine — that combination is what makes us look more closely. Noticing it is not worrying too much; it is the thing that lets support start sooner. At our centre on MPS Road in Model Town, Multan, we assess and support autistic children aged two to sixteen. If you are being offered a special diet, our guide to <a href="/learn/food-and-nutrition/">food, feeding and development</a> sets out plainly what the evidence does and does not support.
Here is the part most parents are too frightened to ask about. Autism is not something that has gone wrong with your child, and it is not caused by anything you did or did not do. It is a different way of communicating, playing and taking in the world, and it lasts a lifetime. Autistic children learn, form deep attachments and flourish. What changes the picture is being understood early, so that the support fits the child instead of the child being asked to fit in.
Parents here usually describe it in their own words long before anyone says the word autism (آٹزم): bacha bulane par nahi mudta, bacha apni hi dunya mein rehta hai, bacha bolta nahi — he does not turn when I call him, he stays in his own world, he does not talk. Those sentences are describing joint attention: the everyday back-and-forth of looking, pointing and sharing a moment with you. It is one of the first things we look at, because it normally arrives before words do.
You do not need a diagnosis, a doctor’s referral or a school report before you speak to us, and the first consultation is free. A developmental assessment here is play, not a test your child can fail. We watch how your child plays, what they do to get your attention, how they respond to their name and to a small change, and we ask about hearing first — because glue ear and undetected hearing loss can look very like autism in a two-year-old. Bring whatever you already have — a hearing test result, a school note, any earlier report — and, if you can, a short video on your phone of the thing that worries you at home, because a child rarely performs it to order in an unfamiliar room. If your child needs a formal diagnosis from a paediatrician or psychiatrist, we will say so plainly and tell you where to go.
If your home is Urdu, Saraiki or Punjabi and school is English, keep every one of those languages. Growing up with two or three languages does not cause autism and does not make an autistic child slower to talk, and we count your child’s words across all their languages together. Therapy runs in whichever language your family speaks most easily at home, because home is where the practice actually has to happen.
Autism, or “just” late talking?
Every child is different, and only a professional can say for sure — but this is the pattern we tend to look at. It’s quite common for the two to overlap.
- Connects warmly — shares smiles, points, shows you things
- Understands and follows simple everyday requests
- Plays pretend and enjoys other children
- Only talking is delayed
- Less interested in sharing; limited pointing or joint attention
- Doesn’t always respond to their name or to what you say
- Repetitive play, lines up toys, prefers to be alone
- Also fixed routines, repetitive movements, or sensory sensitivities
What if my older child was never assessed?
Autism isn’t only picked up in toddlers. Some children — often quieter kids, or those who “mask” to fit in — reach school age or their teens before anyone looks closely. In an older child it can show as struggling to make or keep friends, one-sided conversations, being left out, needing strict routines, or feeling exhausted after socialising. It’s never too late to seek help, and a child can be assessed at any age.
What are the early signs of autism in children?
- No response to their name by 12 months, even when hearing has been checked and is normal
- Rarely points at things to show you, and does not follow your point — one of the earliest signs we look for
- Little or fleeting eye contact, with few facial expressions to go with it
- Late to speak, or words that were there at eighteen months and have quietly disappeared
- Repetitive movements — hand-flapping, rocking or spinning, often called stimming
- Lines toys up or repeats the same play sequence, rather than pretending
- A strong need for routine, and real distress at small changes such as a different route home
- Over- or under-sensitive to sound, texture, light, taste or smell — hands over the ears, or a very short list of foods
- Plays alone or alongside other children rather than with them
- Intense, narrow interests they can talk about at length and find hard to leave
- In an older child: few close friends, one-sided conversations, and taking things very literally
- In girls especially, the signs can be masked — copying other children all day at school, then falling apart at home
How do we help autistic children in Multan?
- A play-based developmental assessment first, so we understand your child’s strengths and sticking points before anyone writes a plan — with hearing checked before anything else
- Speech and language therapy that treats communication as bigger than speech: gestures, photos, picture-exchange cards and simple communication apps alongside words, so your child has a way to be understood today
- Positive behaviour support and ABA-style teaching that begins by working out what a behaviour is trying to say — built on encouragement, never on punishment
- Sensory and motor skill-building for the everyday things that go wrong: widening a narrow list of foods, tolerating a haircut, getting dressed, coping with a noisy room
- Special education and school-readiness teaching — sitting, waiting, turn-taking, following a routine, and an individual education plan (IEP) a school can actually use
- One joined-up plan through our autism support programme for children aged two to sixteen, so you are not carrying the same story to four different people
- Parent coaching in every session, because the hours that change things are the ones at home, not the forty-five minutes with us
- A written report you can hand to your child’s school, and help explaining it to the class teacher
- An honest referral when it is needed. We do not have a licensed occupational therapist on staff, so formal occupational therapy or sensory integration therapy means being pointed to someone qualified — and the same goes for a formal diagnosis, a paediatric review or a hearing test
No single sign on its own means a child is autistic, and children vary enormously — many autistic children will not show all of these. Two things are worth acting on quickly rather than waiting: words or skills your child had and has now lost, and hearing that has never been checked. Otherwise, if a few of these felt familiar as you read, an assessment simply gives you clarity and a plan. That is all it is at this stage — understanding, not a label.
Picture a two-year-old who does not turn when his name is called, lines his cars along the sofa for half an hour at a time, and has two words. The assessment comes first, then one plan: communication work that accepts pointing and pictures as real communication, sensory and routine support so that haircuts and mealtimes stop being battles, and a short daily routine his parents run at home. What tends to shift first is not speech — it is the looking. Turning to his name, glancing up to check you saw, bringing you something to open. Pointing usually follows, and words come after that, once there is a reason to use them. Every autistic child is different and nobody can promise a timeline, but that is the order we watch for.
An illustrative, general example — not a real child. Every child is unique; the only way to know what yours needs is a proper assessment.What the research tells us
Everything we do is grounded in published research, not just opinion. Here are a few findings from trusted, independent sources:
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends standardised autism screening for every child at 18 and 24 months, alongside ongoing developmental surveillance in primary care. Its clinical report notes that autism is common, can be diagnosed as young as 18 months, and has evidence-based interventions that may improve how a child functions.
— American Academy of Pediatrics — Hyman, Levy & Myers, Pediatrics (2020). View sourceThe same clinical report describes a growing evidence base for behavioural and other interventions that target a child’s specific skills and symptoms, and frames the choice between them as shared decision-making between the family and the clinicians — not one fixed programme handed to every child.
— American Academy of Pediatrics — Identification, Evaluation, and Management of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pediatrics (2020). View sourceThe NHS lists the signs of autism in young children as speaking later than other children, using eye contact less, repetitive movements such as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping, becoming distressed at a change of routine, and reacting very strongly to lights, sounds, smells, tastes or textures. In older children it adds having few friends and taking language literally. The NHS is clear that every autistic person is different and many will not show all the signs, and that autistic girls may copy how other children behave, stay quiet in difficult situations and appear to cope socially.
— National Health Service (NHS) — Signs of autism in children. View source
Other areas we help with
Autism: questions parents ask
Do I need a diagnosis before starting therapy?
No. You do not need a diagnosis, a doctor’s referral or a school report — just tell us what you have noticed, and the first consultation is free. Support is planned around what your child can and cannot do right now, not around a label, and it can begin while a formal diagnosis is still being arranged. Take the free two-minute development check if you would like somewhere to start tonight.
Is there an autism centre in Multan, and where exactly are you?
Yes. Inclusive Developmental and Therapy Center is on MPS Road, Block A Model Town, Multan — near Bloomfield Hall School, Street No. 2 — open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 7pm. Speech therapy, behaviour support, sensory and motor work and special education all sit under one roof, so you are not driving your child to a different address for each one. See what the autism support programme in Multan covers, or book an assessment. The first consultation is free.
What is the best age to start autism therapy?
As soon as you have a concern. Signs are often visible before a child turns two, and paediatric guidance recommends screening every child at 18 and 24 months, since autism can be identified as young as 18 months and evidence-based support can improve how a child functions. Earlier is easier — but no age is too late, and school-age and teenage children make real gains too. A developmental assessment is the sensible first step at any age.
Is autism curable, or is it lifelong?
Autism is lifelong. It is a difference in how your child’s brain works rather than an illness, so there is nothing to cure — and you should be wary of anyone selling one, whether that is a special diet, a supplement, a course of injections or a stem cell treatment. None of those is part of the paediatric guidance we work from, and we do not offer them. What therapy changes is real all the same: communication, independence, coping with change, and confidence. The aim is a child who can take part as themselves.
My child is autistic and does not speak. Can therapy still help?
Yes. Being non-verbal is not the end of communication; it is the start of a different route to it. We build a way for your child to be understood now — pointing, gestures, photos, picture cards or a simple app on a phone — while continuing to encourage speech. Giving a child a reliable way to communicate does not stop them talking, and it usually takes the heat out of the frustration behind difficult behaviour. See what speech and language therapy in Multan involves.
ABA, speech therapy, or both — which does my child need?
Usually both, in different proportions, and the assessment is what settles the mix. Speech and language therapy builds the ability to understand and be understood. Behavioural therapy and ABA-style teaching builds attention, routine, turn-taking and calmer responses to change, and works out what a difficult behaviour is asking for. A child with no way to communicate and daily meltdowns needs both, planned together rather than bought separately. Here is what ABA therapy actually involves.
What is the difference between an autism centre, a special school and a therapy clinic?
A therapy clinic gives you one skill at a time, by appointment — speech only, for example. A special school gives a full school day, with teaching and a class routine. An autism centre sits between the two: several therapies in one place, working from one shared plan. Many children use more than one over the years, and the right mix depends on the assessment rather than on the name over the door. If your child mainly needs the teaching side, read about our special education and IEP support.
Will my child manage a mainstream school?
Many autistic children do, especially when the groundwork is done first: sitting and waiting, following a class routine, asking for help, and a teacher who has been told what helps this particular child. Some need a smaller, more structured setting for a while and move across later. It is not a decision you make once and for all at four years old. Read our guide to preparing an autistic child for school.
Are there free or subsidised autism services in Pakistan?
There is a government route worth knowing about. The Special Education Department, Government of Punjab runs special education centres across the province and publishes its institution list at sed.punjab.gov.pk — ring your nearest centre directly, because intake, ages and what is on offer do change. A government centre is a school placement rather than a therapy clinic, and plenty of children use both. Here, the first consultation is free, and our home programme for connection and communication costs nothing and needs no appointment.
What can I do at home while we wait for an appointment?
Follow your child’s lead instead of redirecting them. Sit at their level, copy what they are doing with a toy of your own, then wait — leave a long, silent pause for them to look at you, because that look is worth more right now than a word. Name one thing at a time in short phrases. Protect routines, and warn them before a change. Our free home programme for building social skills takes you through it step by step.
Worried about your child? Let’s talk.
A short, friendly conversation is the best first step. Call, text or WhatsApp us — we’ll listen and guide you, with no pressure.
MPS Road, Block A Model Town, Multan (near Bloomfield Hall School, Street No. 2) · Mon–Sat, 10 AM – 7 PM