Autism-World

Autism has its origins in the first weeks or months of life. It is characterized by marked problems in social interaction (autism), as well as by delayed and deviant communication development (speech is absent in about 50 percent of cases) and various other behaviors which are usually subsumed in the term ‘insistence on sameness.’ Such behaviors include stereotyped motor behaviors (hand flapping, body rocking), insistence on sameness and resistance to change. Both categorical and dimensional approaches to diagnosis have been used, as for instance in the DSM-IV Worldwide Field Trial. Many individuals with autism exhibit mental retardation on the basis of their full-scale (or averaged) IQ score; however, unlike most people with primary mental retardation, those with autism often have marked scatter in their development, so that some aspects of the IQ, particularly nonverbal skills, may be within the normal range. Autism is sometimes observed along with other medical and psychiatric conditions such as Fragile X syndrome.
Most parents of autistic children suspect that something is wrong by the time the child is 18 months old and seek help by the time the child is 2. Children with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interactions, and pretend play. In some, aggression — toward others or self — may be present.

Some children with autism appear normal before age 1 or 2 and then suddenly “regress” and lose language or social skills they had previously gained. This is called the regressive type of autism.

People with autism may perform repeated body movements, show unusual attachments to objects or have unusual distress when routines are changed. Individuals may also experience sensitivities in the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste. Such children, for example, will refuse to wear “itchy” clothes and become unduly distressed if forced because of the sensitivity of their skin. Some combination of the following areas may be affected in varying degrees.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 25th, 2007 at 12:07 pm and is filed under Autism Diagnosis.