Does My Child Have Autism?
It is the wish of all parents to see their children grow up healthy and normally in all areas, be it thinking, behavior, communication or social skills. With terms like autism, attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and pervasive development disorders (PDD) being linked frequently with young kids, and you find that your kids is slower in some area, did it ever cross your mind: does my child have autism?
Knowing that autism symptoms vary for every individual and there are no accurate ways to diagnose autistic conditions for children, plus the fact that you are not trained in autism, it may be difficult for you to answer the question.
Early Diagnosis Checklist
Although it is hard to diagnose autism in children, there are certain guidelines to help parents to spot the early signs or symptoms. For example, there are timeframes and milestones on when a child should be able to first speak, stand and walk and so on.
• Does not babble by 12 months
• Does not respond to gestures
• Unable to utter single words by 16 months
• Loss of language at an older age
• Lack of sociability
The above are just some markers of average development for children by their ages and do not panic if your child shows any or some of the above characteristic. This does not mean that they have autism. It is important to note that many children do not develop all skills at typical ages and they will catch up later, which we called late bloomers.
That being said, it is best to follow-up with doctors or specialists on any delays to get further assessment and examination.
Where to Get Help
Parents should always go back to their child’s doctor when they have any concerns. The doctors understand the child’s behavior and well aware of the various developmental stages and so, they can make a better judgment. Your child’s doctor can also further direct you to specialists to do a complete developmental evaluation or help you get other specialized services if needed.
Although it can be overwhelming if it is being diagnosed that your child has autism, it does not define the path of your child’s entire life. Research has shown that early diagnosis of autism in children can help in a much more effective treatment and reduction in its symptoms. So, seek consultation with your child’s doctor if you spot any signs or symptoms.
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Signs And Symptoms Of Autism
Autism, which affects thought, perception and attention, has a long list of signs and symptoms. It is not just one disorder with a well defined set of symptoms; autism affect individuals differently, with each affected person express his or her own combination of symptoms and signs.
That being said, however, there are three distinctive features that being identified to be associated with autism: impairment in social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and the presence of repetitive and restricted patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. All people with autism have abnormal functioning in these 3 core areas of development with their behaviors impact range from mild to severe. .
Social Interaction
Symptoms may include:
• Significant problems developing nonverbal communication skills, such as eye-to-eye gazing, facial expressions, and body posture.
• Appears not to hear you at times
• Lack of awareness of feelings of others and the expression of emotions, such as laughing or crying
• Remaining aloof, preferring to be alone
• Difficulty interacting with other people and failure to make peer friendships
• Lack of or abnormal social play
• Fails to respond to his or her name
Verbal and Nonverbal Communication
Symptoms may include:
• Delay in, or lack of, learning to talk. As many as 50% of people with autism never speak.
• Does not make eye contact when making requests
• Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm — may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
• Problems starting a conversation and have difficulties continuing a conversation once it has begun.
• May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn’t understand how to use them
• Difficulty understanding their listener’s perspective.
Behaviour
Symptoms may include:
• Develops specific routines or rituals. For example, a child with autism may always need to eat bread before salad or insist on driving the same route every day to school.
• Becomes disturbed at the slightest change in routines or rituals
• May be fascinated by parts of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car
• May be unusually sensitive to light, sound and touch and yet oblivious to pain
• Stereotyped behaviors. These may include body rocking and hand flapping.
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What Is Autism?
Autism is a complex developmental disability which is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, causing severe delays in development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills.
It is part of a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), which include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).
Autism typically appears during the first three years of life and will last throughout a person’s lifetime. It occurs in all racial, ethnic, and social groups and it is four times higher to strike boys than girls. Autism impairs a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others and is typically associated with rigid routines and repetitive behaviors, such as obsessively arranging objects or following very specific routines.
The symptoms of autism can vary wildly on each individual. In the area of communication, some may delayed in their use of language whereas there are others who lack speech altogether. They may repeat words instead of normal verbal communication and don’t be surprised if they may recite entire lines of text from books or movies for no apparent reason. When being called, they might not response and similarly, verbal requests might not be answered.
There are individuals with autism who never develop body gestures such as waving or pointing their finger to targeted objects and they normally show difficulty in holding a conversation or may compulsively steer the conversation to one subject.
Children with autism can show a lack of imaginative play and a preference to repeat the same activities for a long period of time such as rewinding videos, stacking blocks, or lining up toys.
It used to be thought that people have to accept it as fate when being diagnosed with autism. But, with the vast improvement of medical fields, there are now a wide range of treatment options which can be very helpful. Although these treatment cannot cure autism, they can bring about substantial improvement and helps to reduce undesirable behaviors for people with autism.
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Welcome To Autism Resources
Thanks for visiting Autism Resources. We have taken the time to organize information that can help you to learn more about Autism. If you’re looking for Autism information in general, be it articles, news, treatment, therapy or help, you have come to the right place.
If any of you would like more information on Autism, please feel free to let us know. Thanks again for the visit and make sure to check back often to receive additional information on Autism.
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