Autism-World

by Teresa Binstock

Several subsequent posts shall delineate a remarkable parallel between three
traditional areas of research: Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (LKS) and a virus that is
known (i) to impair language in some persons, and (ii) to induce seizures or other
epileptiform atypicalities. We not that items i and ii are also seen in LKS.
[...]

You can get more information about Landau-Kleffner Syndrome from:
National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD)
P.O. Box 1968, 55 Kenosia Avenue
Danbury, CT 06813-1968
Voice: (203) 744-0100
Toll-free Voice: (800) 999-6673
TTY: (203) 797-9590
Fax: (203) 798-2291
E-mail: orphan@rarediseases.org
Internet: www.rarediseases.org
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
10801 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852
Voice: (301) 897-5700
Toll-free Voice: (800) 638-8255
TTY: (301) 897-0157
Fax: (301) 571-0457
E-mail: actioncenter@asha.org
Internet: www.asha.org

The cause of LKS is unknown. Some experts think there is more than one cause for this disorder. All of the children with LKS appear to be perfectly normal until their first seizure or the start of language problems. There have been no reports of children who have a family history of LKS. Therefore, LKS [...]

The following are the most common indicators of Landau-Kleffner syndrome. However, each individual may experience symptoms differently.

Early signs may be referred to as auditory agnosia, which includes the child:

suddenly having problems understanding what is said.
appearing to have problems with hearing – deafness may be suspected.
appearing to be autistic or developmentally delayed.

Spoken language is eventually affected, [...]

Auditory verbal agnosia, e.g., struggling to find words for familiar objects.
??Difficulty in communicating with speech and language, e.g., problems understanding what is said (receptive dysphasia)
Difficulty in putting thoughts into words (expressive dysphasia).
Difficulty in understanding words spoken or written by others. This symptom is often mistaken for a hearing problem, as the child seems to ignore [...]

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and [...]