Understanding Autism
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the name of the group of serious problems with development that are caused by a problem in a young child’s brain. The disorder often surfaces before the age of three, continuing on into adulthood. Being able to recognize and treat the disorder early can positively affect the severity of it. All Autism forms affect communication and interaction abilities with people. No one knows the causes of ASD, nor does anyone know how to prevent or cure it. The key is to be able to treat autism as early as possible.
Symptoms and Signs: Autism reveals itself in crucial areas of development. Children with Autism may have problems with social interaction, language and behavior. They may have difficulty learning, or have different ways of learning, difficulty with paying attention or reacting to things. Certain behaviors might be repeated. Children show signs of Autism in early childhood/infancy.
Common signs of Autism are, socially: having no response, or little, when a child hears their name called, avoiding eye contact, seeming to not hear you talking, a resistance to being held or cuddled, perhaps only cuddling when they are so inclined, seemingly unaware of another person’s feelings, wanting to be solitary (in their own world), and having difficulty with showing their feelings or emotions.
Language signs of Autism are: Delayed development in talking, losing learned ability to speak a sentence or sentence fragment, avoids eye contact when requesting something, talks in a strange tone or rhythm, is not able to start a conversation or keep one going, could repeat a sentence verbatim, but not be able to facilitate it, may have a hard time expressing what they need.
Behavioral signs are: A child may repeat and action time and again, for example, rocking or hand flapping, having a specific schedule or ritual, and getting upset if that schedule is disturbed, constantly moving. A child could also be enthralled with an object’s moving parts, can be hypersensitive to sound, light and touch, while being unaffected by pain, may also lack intuition to point at interesting objects, such as a helicopter flying overhead.
If your child loses a skill at any age, call your doctor right away. Ask to be referred to a developmental pediatrician. Being proactive as quickly as possible will be the key to making a difference.