Variability of Autism Symptoms
Because of autism's variety, its symptoms seem best understood when presented descriptively and with particular 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 together with their communicative skills. Autism symptoms can range from mild to severe and vary in intensity from symptom to symptom. Children with autism can display a wide range of symptoms, which range in severity from mild to disabling. Autism is sometimes coupled with retardation, which makes most teaching techniques ineffective. While the symptoms of autism can vary greatly from person to person, there is no one 'best' treatment which will help everyone.
Autism and Asperger's Syndrome
Cognitive symptoms and social symptoms need to be looked at together as central features of both autism and Asperger's syndrome. Asperger syndrome and autism are quite similar in behavioral symptoms. Asperger's syndrome is a condition of autism where language and aptitude are normal 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.
Severity of Symptoms
Clinical accounts suggest that conditions resembling autism do not vary just in terms of severity, but also in pattern of symptoms. As it varies widely in its severity and symptoms, autism might go unrecognized, particularly in mildly affected persons or in those with multiple handicaps. There is a range of severity in autism symptoms, and for this reason the term “autism spectrum disorders” is often used. Children with autism may have numerous behaviors and abilities because of the severity of their symptoms. Based on data from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), persons with autism have normal life expectancies and can lead typical or near-normal lives, depending on the severity of their symptoms.
Physicians use the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to describe individuals with mild symptoms, severe symptoms, or symptoms that fall anywhere in between. 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. Even though autistic symptoms in children could lessen with age, autism is a lifelong disorder.
Autism Signs and Symptoms
It is valuable to pay attention to autism symptoms when suspecting that a child may be dealing with from the disorder. Doctors look for certain symptoms in communication and social impairments to diagnose autism. The diagnostic catalog of symptoms and behaviors associated with autism is long, and each affected person expresses his or her own combination of these behaviors.
These symptoms alone don't substantiate a diagnosis of autism, but are taken into account when evaluating children. The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in diverse sources for autism includes those given below. The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to extensive. Some typical autism symptoms are presented and the intent is to offer 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)
Additional symptoms of autism include difficulties with verbal and nonverbal communication. There may be symptoms not related to autism, and this is certainly not intended to be a complete list of symptoms.
Diagnosis
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. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed autism symptoms. Your doctor can help to determine whether the symptoms are caused by autism, a connected disorder, or a different condition. Diagnosis of autism might be difficult, due to the fact that the condition varies widely in terms of its symptoms and degree of severity. The diagnosis of autism is established by the occurrence or absence of a collection of behavioral symptoms using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
Because the symptoms of autism can vary vastly from person to person, there is no one 'best' treatment which will benefit everyone. Children with autism might exhibit mild, moderate or substantial symptoms in three areas (social, communication and behavior). A few children showed symptoms of autism in their first-year birthday video, such as less frequent use of words or babbling. Other autistic children who behaved typically at age 1, appeared to go back and exhibited typical symptoms of autism by age 2.
Conclusion - Autism Treatment
There are multiple 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 investigated as a way to diminish certain autism symptoms. Atypical neuroleptics seem to be promising agents to treat behavioral symptoms frequently occurring among autism patients. Professionals believe that early intervention is significant in addressing the symptoms associated with autism. Children don't "outgrow" autism but symptoms may diminish as the child develops and receives care. Over the years, a variety of interventions have shown promise for improving symptoms of autism in particular children. Some children in treatment programs eliminate sufficient 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 exhibited improvements in particular of his symptoms of autism. Some have noted the improvement of autism symptoms to treatment with vancomycin.
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