Do kids with autism walk late?

Children on the autism spectrum usually sit, crawl, and walk on time. However, children on the autism spectrum may show developmental differences during their infant and toddlers years, especially in social and language skills. There may be some delays in spoken language or differences in how they interact with peers. Delays in joint attention skills are found in most children with ASD. Children on the autism spectrum usually show delayed or absent social communication skills at every stage. Almost all children on the autism disorder spectrum show delays in nonverbal communication and spoken language. Regression in developmental milestones & skills can also occur, with about 25% of children later diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder may develop some language that they suddenly or gradually stop using. Typically, this may happen between the ages of 15 and 24 months. They might also become more socially withdrawn.

Babies with autism are thought to be late to meet physical milestones, such as pointing and sitting. But a new report finds that most babies with autism and intellectual disability take their first steps — a major motor milestone — on time or earlier than those with other conditions that affect cognition. About 97 percent of children will have begun walking by 16 months of age, according to the World Health Organization. Based on what we would expect for children of a given IQ, autism seems to be associated with relatively lower rates of delayed walking. When the researchers focused on children with a nonverbal IQ of around 85, compared with the average score of 100, they found no difference in the likelihood of walking delays among children with autism and those with other diagnoses. About 85 percent of the children in each group walked independently by 18 months. But when researchers focused on children with IQs of around 50, they found that 60 percent of the children with intellectual disability, ADHD or language disorders walked by 18 months compared with 80 percent of those with autism.