ABOUT AUTISM
The Mayo Clinic defines Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It also includes restricted repetitive behaviors, interests and activities, which cause significant impairment in social, occupational and other areas of functioning.
The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) refers to ASD as a single disorder that includes autism, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. The term “spectrum” in autism spectrum disorder refers to a wide range of symptoms and severity.
Although the term “Asperger’s syndrome” is no longer in the DSM, some people still use the term, which is generally thought to be at the mild end of autism spectrum disorder. It is not clear whether the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is rising. Better detection is required. Although there is no cure for autism spectrum disorder, intensive, early treatment can make a big difference in the lives of many children.
Autism spectrum disorder impacts how a child perceives and socializes with others. Social interaction, communication and behavior – crucial areas of child development – are affected. Some children show signs of ASD in early infancy while others develop normally for the first few months or years of life, but then suddenly become withdrawn, aggressive or lose language skills they’ve already acquired. Each child with ASD has a unique pattern of behavior and level of severity — from low to high functioning. Because of the unique mixture of symptoms shown in each child, severity level can sometimes be difficult to determine. However, within the range (spectrum) of symptoms, some common ASD actions and behaviors include:
Social Communication and Interaction
- Fails to respond to his/her name or appears not to hear you at times
- Resists cuddling and holding and seems to prefer playing alone
- Retreats into his/her own world
- Has poor eye contact; lacks facial expression
- Doesn’t speak or has delayed speech
- May lose previous ability to say words or sentences
- Can’t start a conversation or keep one going
- May only start a conversation to make requests or label items
- Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm
- May use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
- May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn’t understand how to use them
- Doesn’t appear to understand simple questions or directions
- Doesn’t express emotions or feelings
- Appears unaware of others’ feelings
- Doesn’t point at or bring objects to share interest
- Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive
Patterns of Behavior
- Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping
- May perform activities that could cause harm, such as head-banging
- Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
- Moves constantly
- May be uncooperative or resistant to change
- Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes
- Exhibits odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
- May be fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn’t understand the “big picture” of the subject
- May be unusually sensitive to light, sound and touch, and yet oblivious to pain
- Does not engage in imitative or make-believe play
- May become fixated on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
- May have odd food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or eating only foods with a certain texture
Most children with ASD are slow to gain knowledge or skills, and some have signs of lower than normal intelligence while others have normal to high intelligence and learn quickly, yet have trouble communicating and applying what they know in everyday life and adjusting to social situations. A small number of children with ASD are savants and have exceptional skills in a specific area, such as art, math or music.
As children mature, some with ASD become more engaged with others and show fewer disturbances in behavior. Some who have the least severe problems, eventually may lead normal or near-normal lives. Others, however, continue to have difficulty with language or social skills. The teen years can bring worse behavioral problems.
When to Consult a Doctor
Babies develop at their own pace, and many don’t follow exact timelines found in some parenting books. Children with ASD usually show some signs of delayed development within the first year. The earlier that treatment begins, the more effective it will be. Your doctor may recommend developmental tests to identify delays in cognitive, language and social skills, especially if your child:
- Doesn’t respond with a smile or happy expression by 6 months
- Doesn’t mimic sounds or facial expressions by 9 months
- Doesn’t babble or coo by 12 months
- Doesn’t gesture (such as point or wave) by 14 months
- Doesn’t say single words by 16 months
- Doesn’t play “make-believe” or pretend by 18 months
- Doesn’t say two-word phrases by 24 months
- Loses previously acquired language or social skills at any age
ADS has no single known cause. Genetics and environment may play a role:
Genetic problems – For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be associated with a genetic disorder, such as Rett syndrome or fragile X syndrome. For others, genetic changes may make a child more susceptible to autism spectrum disorder or create environmental risk factors. Still other genes may affect brain development or the way that brain cells communicate, or they may determine the severity of symptoms. Some genetic problems seem to be inherited, while others happen spontaneously.
Environmental factors – Researchers are currently exploring whether such factors as viral infections, complications during pregnancy or air pollutants play a role in triggering autism spectrum disorder.
Risk Factors
ASD affects children of all races and nationalities. Certain factors increase a child’s risk, which include:
Your child’s sex. Boys are about four times more likely to develop ASD than girls are.
Family history. Families who have one child with ASD have an increased risk of having another child with the disorder. It’s also not uncommon for parents or relatives of a child with ASD to have minor problems with social or communication skills themselves or to engage in certain behaviors typical of ASD.
Other disorders. Children with certain medical conditions have a higher than normal risk of ASD or ASD-like symptoms including fragile X syndrome (an inherited disorder that causes intellectual problems); tuberous sclerosis (a condition in which benign tumors develop in the brain); the neurological disorder Tourette syndrome; and Rett syndrome (a genetic condition occurring almost exclusively in girls, which causes slowing of head growth, intellectual disability and loss of purposeful hand use).
Extremely preterm babies. Babies born before 26 weeks of pregnancy may have a greater risk of ASD.
Parents’ ages. There may be a connection between children born to older parents and ASD, but more research is necessary to establish this link.
ABOUT AUTISM
The Mayo Clinic defines Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a serious neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It also includes restricted repetitive behaviors, interests and activities, which cause significant impairment in social, occupational and other areas of functioning.
The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) refers to ASD as a single disorder that includes autism, Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. The term “spectrum” in autism spectrum disorder refers to a wide range of symptoms and severity.
Although the term “Asperger’s syndrome” is no longer in the DSM, some people still use the term, which is generally thought to be at the mild end of autism spectrum disorder. It is not clear whether the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder is rising. Better detection is required. Although there is no cure for autism spectrum disorder, intensive, early treatment can make a big difference in the lives of many children.
Autism spectrum disorder impacts how a child perceives and socializes with others. Social interaction, communication and behavior – crucial areas of child development – are affected. Some children show signs of ASD in early infancy while others develop normally for the first few months or years of life, but then suddenly become withdrawn, aggressive or lose language skills they’ve already acquired. Each child with ASD has a unique pattern of behavior and level of severity — from low to high functioning. Because of the unique mixture of symptoms shown in each child, severity level can sometimes be difficult to determine. However, within the range (spectrum) of symptoms, some common ASD actions and behaviors include:
Social Communication and Interaction
- Fails to respond to his/her name or appears not to hear you at times
- Resists cuddling and holding and seems to prefer playing alone
- Retreats into his/her own world
- Has poor eye contact; lacks facial expression
- Doesn’t speak or has delayed speech
- May lose previous ability to say words or sentences
- Can’t start a conversation or keep one going
- May only start a conversation to make requests or label items
- Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm
- May use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
- May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn’t understand how to use them
- Doesn’t appear to understand simple questions or directions
- Doesn’t express emotions or feelings
- Appears unaware of others’ feelings
- Doesn’t point at or bring objects to share interest
- Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being passive, aggressive or disruptive
Patterns of Behavior
- Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping
- May perform activities that could cause harm, such as head-banging
- Develops specific routines or rituals and becomes disturbed at the slightest change
- Moves constantly
- May be uncooperative or resistant to change
- Has problems with coordination or has odd movement patterns, such as clumsiness or walking on toes
- Exhibits odd, stiff or exaggerated body language
- May be fascinated by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn’t understand the “big picture” of the subject
- May be unusually sensitive to light, sound and touch, and yet oblivious to pain
- Does not engage in imitative or make-believe play
- May become fixated on an object or activity with abnormal intensity or focus
- May have odd food preferences, such as eating only a few foods, or eating only foods with a certain texture
Most children with ASD are slow to gain knowledge or skills, and some have signs of lower than normal intelligence while others have normal to high intelligence and learn quickly, yet have trouble communicating and applying what they know in everyday life and adjusting to social situations. A small number of children with ASD are savants and have exceptional skills in a specific area, such as art, math or music.
As children mature, some with ASD become more engaged with others and show fewer disturbances in behavior. Some who have the least severe problems, eventually may lead normal or near-normal lives. Others, however, continue to have difficulty with language or social skills. The teen years can bring worse behavioral problems.
When to Consult a Doctor
Babies develop at their own pace, and many don’t follow exact timelines found in some parenting books. Children with ASD usually show some signs of delayed development within the first year. The earlier that treatment begins, the more effective it will be. Your doctor may recommend developmental tests to identify delays in cognitive, language and social skills, especially if your child:
- Doesn’t respond with a smile or happy expression by 6 months
- Doesn’t mimic sounds or facial expressions by 9 months
- Doesn’t babble or coo by 12 months
- Doesn’t gesture (such as point or wave) by 14 months
- Doesn’t say single words by 16 months
- Doesn’t play “make-believe” or pretend by 18 months
- Doesn’t say two-word phrases by 24 months
- Loses previously acquired language or social skills at any age
ADS has no single known cause. Genetics and environment may play a role:
Genetic problems – For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be associated with a genetic disorder, such as Rett syndrome or fragile X syndrome. For others, genetic changes may make a child more susceptible to autism spectrum disorder or create environmental risk factors. Still other genes may affect brain development or the way that brain cells communicate, or they may determine the severity of symptoms. Some genetic problems seem to be inherited, while others happen spontaneously.
Environmental factors – Researchers are currently exploring whether such factors as viral infections, complications during pregnancy or air pollutants play a role in triggering autism spectrum disorder.
Risk Factors
ASD affects children of all races and nationalities. Certain factors increase a child’s risk, which include:
Your child’s sex. Boys are about four times more likely to develop ASD than girls are.
Family history. Families who have one child with ASD have an increased risk of having another child with the disorder. It’s also not uncommon for parents or relatives of a child with ASD to have minor problems with social or communication skills themselves or to engage in certain behaviors typical of ASD.
Other disorders. Children with certain medical conditions have a higher than normal risk of ASD or ASD-like symptoms including fragile X syndrome (an inherited disorder that causes intellectual problems); tuberous sclerosis (a condition in which benign tumors develop in the brain); the neurological disorder Tourette syndrome; and Rett syndrome (a genetic condition occurring almost exclusively in girls, which causes slowing of head growth, intellectual disability and loss of purposeful hand use).
Extremely preterm babies. Babies born before 26 weeks of pregnancy may have a greater risk of ASD.
Parents’ ages. There may be a connection between children born to older parents and ASD, but more research is necessary to establish this link.
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