I was going through my old advice and realized i had accidently deleted this piece of advice........so I wanted to re-add it especially after reading this piece by my friend Kellzacar
What are Autism Spectrum Disorders?
The autistic spectrum is a developmental and behavioral syndrome that results from a combination of Austistic traits. At the severe end of the spectrum is low-functioning autism which has delay in many areas, and travels up the ladder to Aspergers syndrome and High functioning Autism. There are varying autistic disorders because the signs & symptoms appear in different combinations and different levels of severity. Two children with a diagnosis of Asperger's for example can share some behavior but exhibit different skills and abilities.
Your child may develop normally for the first months or years of life, then become less responsive to the people around him/her. These disorders can often be detected by 3 , and as early as 18 months. But only 50 percent of children are diagnosed before kindergarten.My son was not diagnosed till he was 2 months off his 5th birthday...Even though the signs were there a lot earlier. Its all interesting that Not all children with speech delay will have an autistic spectrum disorder.
The main components of the Autism spectrum ladder are;
Classic Autism
- Most common: ~20 in 10,000
With classic Autism impairments in social and communication areas are severe and present before the age of three years. The child is anxious, has poor attention and motivation, responds unusually to many different stimuli and is observed as being 'different' . Speech is delayed, or absent.There is a strong reliance on routine , and the child can toe walk, hand flap and finger gaze. The child {may} also be intellectually disabled.
High Functioning Autism
HFA is used to describe a child who meets the criteria for a diagnosis of Autism, but is not as severely affected as the more classically autistic person.Again applied to individuals with an I.Q. of 80 or above, and the ability to speak, read, and write.HFA usually refers to autistic people who have normal overall intelligence, i.e. are not cognitively challenged
Aspergers Syndrome
In Aspergers there are severe social impairments, but impairments are not as severe in language and communication area. Speech develops within the normal age range, but the ability to communicate effectively (known as language pragmatics) is impaired. The impairments aren't noticed in the very young child, but become more apparent as the child reaches pre-school and school age. Aspergers is characterized by higher cognitive abilities, at least normal IQ and sometimes ranging up into the very superior range Many individuals are not diagnosed until they are adults.
Pervasive Developmental Disorder-NOS
This is the diagnosis given for children who present with some of the characteristics of either Autism or Aspergers Syndrome, but not severe enough for a diagnosis of either of these conditions. .A diagnosis of autistic disorder is made when an individual displays 6 or more of 12 symptoms listed across three major areas: (a) social interaction, (b) communication, and (c) behavior. When children display similar behaviors but do not meet the criteria for autistic disorder, they can receive a diagnosis of Pervasive Developmental Disorder-NOS (PDD-NOS)
Rett's Disorder
is a disorder that females only can have. For the first 6 months from birth, development is normal. Then, they begin to exhibit many of the symptoms of autism, such as stereotyped movements, poor social interaction, and impaired communication. They also have problems with both expressive and receptive language, psychomotor retardation, and poorly coordinated gait and/or trunk movements, along with decreased head growth. They will, as they get older, gain back a degree of positive social interaction.
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Children with this disorder develop a condition which resembles autism but only after 2 to 4 years of clearly normal development...It shows with a severe loss of social, communication and other skills Doctors often confuse this disorder with late-onset autism because both conditions involve normal development followed by significant loss of language, social, play and motor skills
Remember No matter what diagnosis your child has or where they are placed on the spectrum, your child is developmentally delayed, has major difficulties participating in day-to-day life and will require your understanding as well as specialist support and intervention.
Links for information
www.mydr.com.au/default.asp
www.mayoclinic.com/health/autism/AN01087
www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/autism.cfm
http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Understanding/Understanding+autism+in+children+and+adolescents.htm
