Autism spectrum disorder is a real developmental problem which appears in children and follows them through their whole life. They show difficulty in learning and developmental skills. They are different from other people in their behavioral patterns, thinking patterns and in their interactive skills as well.
It mostly starts showing its symptoms from eight months to two years. It totally depends on the severity of the disease. If they show late symptoms it maybe they don’t need much help or are not as severe as others. Some children can’t even process without any help and some need only little help in their daily doings.
How can you highlight the symptoms?
In order to get to know the disease, it’s very important to have knowledge about the early symptoms in childhood. There are many suggested symptoms for it. Some are mentioned below:
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Anti-social behavior
They start showing antisocial behavior from early childhood. They don’t respond to their name being called, they don’t make any eye contact and they prefer to play alone. They don’t have any friends and don’t know how to share their emotions with anyone.
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Difficulty in learning
They show poor learning patterns from their childhood. They may lose the already developed skills in autism. They will lack performance in their schools and job places. They will face difficulty in understanding small things, questions and directions in their daily life.
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Speech impairment
They face difficulty in speaking and learning new words. They have delayed speaking patterns. They can’t start a conversation on their own; even if they speak they will sound like an abnormal rhythm. They will be repeating words without any sense.
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Behavior problem
They also show problematic behavioral patterns. They have repetitive set of behaviors which they show in front of everyone. They could also show self-harm actions as hurting themselves with some object, this need all time surveillance.
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Stick to their routine
They once stick to their routine it’s very unusual for them to step back. If there is a change in their daily timetable, environment or places they will get irritated and uncomfortable. Even they have specific choices in their food and will not eat anything else. They are not easy to adapt to situations which ultimately cause antisocial behavior. This can create great problems in their adult life as well.
What causes autism?
This is a major concern for parents to know about the causes of autism. There are many Autism specialist around the world. Thus, there are no specific reasons for it. But some factors are listed by doctors which can be the basis of this disease.
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Genes
Autism disease can be associated as a genetic disease as well e.g. Rett syndrome and fragile X syndrome (genetic disorders). Fragile X syndrome is inherited genetic disease which causes intellectual issues. The other can be development of tumors in the brain, which is called tuberous sclerosis. The other disease is called Rett syndrome in which head growth can face halt in development. It mostly happens in girls.
Autism can be happening because of some genetic changes as well or some mutations to brain cells. This can cause disruptions in the function of brain, which ultimately affects the levels of perceptions one can show. This can be inherited as well. If someone has a family history of autism, they are likely to get it. Or if one of the siblings has it the others also are at high risk.
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Old age marriage
Mothers aged above forty have 51% more chance to get autism in their children as compared to mothers in their twenties and thirties. According to researchers, fathers are more likely to transfer the genes of this disease as compared to mothers. However, this relation needs to be studied in detail to build it with more logical reasoning.
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Environment
Surprisingly, environmental factors can also lead to autism. For instance, viral infections, air pollutants, medications or complications during pregnancy can be the reason for it. This can be avoided under given prescriptions.
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Premature birth
Premature births can also have high risks of autism, as there is no complete development of the brain in such premature birth. It is more likely for a gestation period like 26 weeks.
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Child’s gender
It is four times more common in boys as compared to girls. However, the doctors haven’t found any logical reasoning to it but it is observed more common in specific gender.
Treatment:
There is no specific treatment for autism in medicine. They can be controlled with medicines and therapies. These can lead to a better lifestyle as compared to their previous condition.
Therapies:
- Cognitive behavior therapy
- Medications
- Social relational treatment
- TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children)
- Speech and language therapy
- ABA (applied behavior analysis)
Definitely, these need to be done by the specialized doctors. One needs to keep in touch with the concerned doctor to analyze which therapy and medication are needed.
You can consult the best psychologist in Islamabad for the diagnosis of autism through marham.pk
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