Autism is a brain developmental disorder
Is Your Infant Rarely Smiling? Beware – It can be a Symptom of Autism
Autism is a brain developmental disorder that makes communication and social interaction difficult, with sufferers often displaying restricted and repetitive behaviour.
Medical professionals have identified two other variants in diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), these are Asperger’s Syndrome- in which sufferers have cognitive development and language limitations- and Pervasive Development Disorder- Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) which is a milder form of Autism and is diagnosed when the patient doesn’t fall into the other criteria.
Symptoms of Autism usually appear in children during infancy, and can be fully diagnosed by the age of three. These symptoms tend to continue into adulthood, although sometimes in milder forms. Diagnosis is based on a series of characteristics rather than just one symptom.
Babies with Autism smile and make eye contact less often, and are less responsive to their own names. Children’s language development is also much slower and they tend to display a variety of repetitive movements like hand flapping and head rolling and stacking and arranging objects or toys. They display ritualistic behaviour and dislike change, and can become preoccupied with a particular television programme or toy. Children with Autism are prone to self injury, display sensory abnormalities (walking into things) and have unusual eating habits where they insist on eating the same foods in a particular way. Autistic children may also suffer from Insomnia.
Many individuals with ASD show superior skills in memorisation and attention. Around 0.5% – 10% of Autistic children display unusual abilities, such as the memorization of data or advanced art skills, and are often called Autistic Savants.
The causes of autism are still been investigated, and rare mutations in genetics and certain environmental factors provide some answers. There’s no known cure for the disorder, nor is there a single treatment that works best for everyone. Research has shown that high levels of serotonin in the blood, which plays an important part in the development of the central nervous system, is one of Autism’s contributing factors. Since then several drugs have been developed which can decrease serotonin levels.
Treatments are aimed at decreasing the problems and lessening family stress, and increasing quality of life and independence for sufferers. Intensive, sustained special education programs and behaviour therapy as early as possible can help Autistic children manage their disadvantages and gain a level of independence. These can be in the form of speech and language therapy to help with communication and social interaction in children, music therapy and counselling. Children do get better and some grow out of the major signs of Autism after intensive treatment.
August 7th, 2009 at 1:47 am
My son, who is age 40 and on the autistic spectrum, smiled less than his siblings and did not coo. He walked at 14 months and only said a half dozen or so words until he was two-and-a-half, then he spoke in full sentences. I read to him a lot and he was a very good reader. When he was young, there was very little information about autism except for the very severe kind. He is employed as a mechanic and can memorize things about cars and is extremely talented in that area. He talks very loud. He is good-looking so gets lots of woman but then can never sustain the relationship. He does not have a lot of interests, mostly cars, but he does read about current events and likes to cook some. He has a son who has ADHD, but is not even mildly autistic. It is sad for my son since he is not bad enough to not have to work and sometimes has a difficult time socializing, though the few people that like him like him a lot. It was hard when he was small because I knew he was not quite right. My heart goes out to others who have the disorder, some much more severely than my son.