Variability of Autism Symptoms
Autism is sometimes coupled with retardation, which makes most teaching techniques ineffective. Due to the fact that the symptoms of autism may vary greatly from person to person, there is no one 'best' treatment which will help everyone. Autism symptoms can range from mild to severe and vary in intensity from symptom to symptom. Children with autism may exhibit a wide range of symptoms, which range in severity from mild to disabling. Due to autism's variety, its symptoms seem best understood when given descriptively and with select examples. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Autism might vary on an individual basis for each patient. Children with Autism symptoms also vary a good deal in their mental abilities and also their communicative skills.
Severity of Symptoms
Based on the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), people with autism have normal life expectancies and can lead average or near-normal lives, depending on the severity of their symptoms. There is a range of severity in autism symptoms, and for this reason the term “autism spectrum disorders” is frequently used. Children with autism may have different behaviors and abilities because of the severity of their symptoms. Clinical accounts hint that that conditions resembling autism don't vary just in terms of severity, but also in pattern of symptoms. As it varies widely in its severity and symptoms, autism could go unrecognized, particularly in mildly affected individuals or in individuals with multiple handicaps.
It is not unique for autism to be confused with other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), such as Asperger's disorder or syndrome, or to have overlapping symptoms. Notwithstanding autistic symptoms in children could lessen with age, autism is a lifetime disorder. Doctors use the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to describe people with mild symptoms, severe symptoms, or symptoms that fall anywhere in between.
Autism Signs and Symptoms
It is vital to pay attention to autism symptoms when suspecting that a child may be experiencing from the disorder. Doctors look for certain symptoms in communication and social impairments to diagnose autism. The diagnostic listing of symptoms and behaviors characteristic with autism is long, and each affected person expresses his or her own combination of these behaviors.
These symptoms alone don't confirm a diagnosis of autism, but are taken into account when evaluating children. The listing of signs and symptoms cited in numerous resources for autism includes those presented below. The symptoms and characteristics of autism can display in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Some typical autism symptoms are given and the intent is to provide a better understanding of the autistic disorder.
- social interaction impairment (poor eye-to-eye gazing, lack of social reciprocity, no peer relations)
- communication impairment (can't sustain a conversation, lack of spontaneous play, delay in development of language)
- repeating/stereotyped patterns of behavior (repetitive motor habits, pre-occupation with parts of objects , preoccupation with one or more stereotyped and restricted patterns of interest that is abnormal either in intensity or focus, repeated hand or finger flapping or twisting, complex whole body movements, preoccupation with parts of objects)
Further symptoms of autism include problems with verbal and nonverbal communication. There might be symptoms not related to autism, and this is certainly not intended to be a complete list of symptoms.
Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
Asperger's syndrome is a condition of autism where language and intelligence are ordinary and autistic symptoms present later in childhood. What distinguishes Asperger's Syndrome from autism is the severity of the symptoms and the absence of language delays. Cognitive symptoms and social symptoms need to be looked through together as core features of both autism and Asperger's syndrome. Asperger syndrome and autism are fairly similar in behavioral symptoms.
Diagnosis
Just your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed autism symptoms. He or she can help to determine whether the symptoms are caused by autism, a related disorder, or another condition. Diagnosis of autism might be hard, because the condition varies widely in terms of its symptoms and degree of severity. The diagnosis of autism is confirmed by the appearance or absence of a cluster of behavioral symptoms using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). The diagnosis of Autistic Disorder consists of a total of at least six observational items from social impairment, communication impairment and behavior impairment categories outlined (see list) with at least two from social impairment, and one each from communication impairment and behavior impairment.
Children with autism may display mild, moderate or severe symptoms in three areas (social, communication and behavior). Because the symptoms of autism might differ vastly from person to person, there is no one 'best' treatment which will assist everyone. Certain children exhibited symptoms of autism in their first-year birthday video, such as less frequent use of words or babbling. Additional autistic children who behaved normally at age 1, appeared to regress and exhibited typical symptoms of autism by age 2.
Conclusion - Autism Treatment
Some children in treatment programs lose enough of their most disabling autism symptoms to function reasonably well in a regular classroom. In 1996, a young boy with autism was given secretin for an endoscopy and showed improvements in certain of his symptoms of autism. A few have noted the improvement of autism symptoms to treatment with vancomycin. Authorities are in agreement that early intervention is crucial in addressing the symptoms characteristic of autism. Children do not "outgrow" autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment. There are numerous different medications that are prescribed to treat the symptoms of autism. It has been reported that there are no well-established medications to treat core symptoms of autism. Medications used to treat anxiety and depression are being explored as a way to relieve certain autism symptoms. Atypical neuroleptics seem to be promising agents to treat behavioral symptoms frequently arising among autism patients. Over the years, a variety of interventions have demonstrated promise for improving symptoms of autism in particular children.
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