AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER :autistic spectrum disorder treatment
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER :autistic spectrum disorder treatment
If a child shows an obsessive resistance to any change of routine, and has problems relating to people and situations, then this prevailing condition can be termed as autism spectrum disorder.
autism spectrum disorder
Autism is a complex disorder that usually varies from child to child, affected mildly to severe in some cases. Generally it appears in the first 3 years of life, and can be associated with other SPECIAL NEEDS symptoms and learning disorder such as DYSLEXIA. Earlier autism spectrum disorder was told to be the result of emotional deprivation etc. but now we have come across the fact that it definitely has a Physiological origin. Study has confirmed that it is an abnormality of the brain, which may arise before conceiving, after conceiving, during or after child birth and mostly before three years of age.
Autism spectrum disorder is generally four times more common in boys than in girls. It can also be caused by an illness during pregnancy, such as Rubella, which is due to the deficiency of oxygen during child birth, or a childhood illness, such as measles.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER :autistic spectrum disorder treatment
Autism symptoms checklist
As autism is a developmental disorder, it can take parents a while to discover that the child is suffering from autism spectrum disorder. Parents in such cases may realise that the baby is not very communicative in the first year of her life, but, may not know the facts until at a very later stage. However, by the third year of the baby’s life, most parents will come across the fact that, the child is a little “different” from the others and that something is missing or wrong at the first place.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER :autistic spectrum disorder treatment
Autism symptoms checklist
The level of Autism may vary from child to child, but there are some definite traits that every autism child shares, they are as follows;
- COMMUNICATION
- SOCIAL INTERACTION
- IMAGINATION
- FIXATION FOR THINGS
- BEHAVIORAL ABNORMALITIES
Let’s look into these traits one by one:
Communication Problem Of An Autism Spectrum Disorder Child: Autism symptoms checklist
Even before a child knows how to communicate with words, they show considerable effort to put across their feelings by signs, from an early age. But with an Autistic child, aversion to communicate is common, they tend not to socialise, and communicate at all. If by chance they even do so, then they may use only a set of specific words or phrases in repetitive manner, or would just restrict his speech to conveying his immediate needs. That’s all.
Social Interaction Of An Autism Spectrum Disorder Child: Autism symptoms checklist
An autistic child will show lack of interest interacting with people around him, even with children of his own age. They hardly make friends, even when they do, their behaviour will be alarmingly inappropriate. Autistic babies cannot be appeased by holding, cuddling or smiling. In less severe autism cases, a child may be social, but not very receptive towards others in a group.
Imagination Of An Autism Spectrum Disorder Child: Autism symptoms checklist
An autistic child can store some of the accurate versions of places or things, or books, paragraphs etc. and would be able to retrieve it just as seen or heard or read. Their memory can sometimes be that accurate. But the shortfall of such a child is, he does not use his imagination while playing with toys or objects rather will perceive things of a very small portion or part and will memorise that effectively, without considering that the whole object can be dealt with.
BehavioralAbnormalities: Autism symptoms checklist
Mostly it is the repetitive behaviour, which makes them one in a many. Screaming, grunting, flicking, spinning objects, banging head, teeth grinding etc. are common in an autistic child. An autistic child may be interested in one single topic at one point of time, and would ask same questions, repeatedly, and demand the same answers repeatedly over and over again. He will follow the same pattern of playing or dealing with you or the toys, and any disruption in the pattern would make him violent and angry.
5 Tips on Parental approach: What Parents Can Do??
There is no specific medication or cure for autism spectrum disorder. An autistic child’s behaviour is the most problematic between the age of 2-5, and slowly will reduce till the child reaches age 12 or so. Even in some cases, when a child has grown up, he has become more sociable and responsive. But, there are definitely no cures, only some therapies that are designed for the parents and the therapists, to control the child’s behaviour. They are as follows:
- Psychotherapy
- Speech therapy
- Holding therapy
- Behaviour modification
- Massage and relaxation
These therapies if done properly with systematic guidance can bring in a lot of changes in an autistic child and can make him more sociable and responsive from an early stage.
