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Treatment Tips for Children with Autism, PDD & Asperger's Syndrome

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What is Autism?

"Autism is..."

... a brain disorder that usually affects a person's capacity to communicate and create relationships with family and other people. Also, it affects how the person sees, feels and exeriences the world around them. For many years, people with Autism were also often misdiagnosed as mentally retarded. Today, scientist are learning what is Autism. They are learning that many individuals with Autism are not retarded, but rather, they are unable to communicate their answers sufficiently to produce an accurate score on some intelligence tests used to determine IQ levels. Most people diagnosed with autism in recent years are relatively high-functioning. But many people diagnosed still exhibit the stereotypical symptoms associated with Autism of a person closed off to their environment and existing "in their own little world."

It is often a difficult challenge to define Autism because it reveals itself differently across the spectrum of people with this condition. People with Autism can experience the condition in slightly differnet ways making a diagnosis challenging. In spite of this, most people with Autism share skill deficits that fall into the common areas of social, communication, motor, and sensory problems.

The National Institute of Mental Health has an excellent article describing Autism in detail.

How to Spot Autism

Autism can be diagnosed as early as 18 months of age with an 83% accuracy. It is a myth that children will "...just grow out of it." There is no research to indicate that this is true- with children that receive no form of intensive therapy. If your health care provider suggests that you wait and see if your child just "...grows out of it..." , the symptoms that you are observing and find troubling, GET ANOTHER HEALTH CARE ADVISOR.

The window of opportunity for improvement, progress or "recovery" is most open for an autistic child in these early years between 18 months and 5 or 6 years of age. This does not mean that older children cannot improve. Just that, the younger your child is when you recognize their problem and begin treating it, the most progress is possible.

The CHAT test (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) is an excellent tool for both Parents and Health Professionals to use in diagnosing Autism in toddlers and has been found to be invaluable in doing so.

What Causes Autism?

Nobody knows for sure. Children with Autism are described as being on "The Spectrum" (Autism Spectrum Disorders). This refers to how Autism and other conditions are viewed as being related in symptoms but with varying degrees and shades of severity. There are other conditions like Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD), Fragile X Syndrome, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), etc.- that exhibit similar symptoms in some cases.

There is research to suggest that in some cases there is a genetic component that is triggered that leads to Autism. There is also research that indicates that Autism is due to environmental influences such as vaccinations. In the future, it may be found that both reasons (and others) are true for different children; and then, we will finally be able to answer the question, "What is Autism?"

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