2.1 Interacting and communicating non-verbally

At the age when typically developing children start to play together and make friends, an autistic child may prefer to play alone; the play may seem rigid – for instance a child may prefer to line up his play figures rather than using them for a pretend game, such as a tea party.

Further differences that may impact on social interaction at any age include problems with non-verbal communication, such as using or understanding gestures and facial expressions, making eye contact with others, and judging subtle aspects of body language such as how close it is acceptable to stand to a person you don’t know. There may also be a lack of emotional ‘give and take’, such as not responding to the changing emotions of other people.