What Are the Most Common Symptoms of Autism in Children?

It would seem that the numbers of children diagnosed with autism is going up all the time. This might be because the higher functioning types of autism are just now being diagnosed and understood. Many children who were once labeled as shy and awkward are now being diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. The lower functioning types of autism are easier to spot, and they are often not hard to diagnose. A parent that knows more about the symtoms of autism in children will have an easier time deciding if their child needs evaluation or not.

Social Issues: One thing that seems to plague all children with autism is social awkwardness and problems interacting with peers. They don't seem to be able to relate to anyone, have problems with eye contact, and tend to show signs of agitation rather easily. They also seem to prefer to play alone rather than rise to the challenge of making friends. They tend to show no emotional reaction to anything or anyone, and shy away from group activities.

Communicating: Those with autism might start out talking fine, but then regress later. Others have good communication skills. Some do not communicate with spoken words at all. Those with classic autism often use gestures rather than saying words, will repeat words and phrases that they do know, and often use odd phrases that rhyme over and over again.

Stimulus Response: One of the symptoms of autism is a lack of response to many things that others respond to right away. This is something that is often very obvious. They either respond in an inappropriate manner or not at all. Some will not respond to noises or stimulus in any way, which scares parents. Others might be overly sensitive to touch, sound, and even the feeling of clothing on their skin. They may also get lost in patterns and explore with rubbing and licking.

Atypical Behavior: Another of the common symptoms of autism in children is problematic behavior. This might include being completely passive, or being extremely and sometimes violently aggressive. These children often have tantrums. These tantrums might come with the slightest upset in normal routine. These children may be first diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder because they lack any type of attention span. They also demonstrate many repetitive movements, and seem to focus on one thing for a very long time.

Playtime: Though children with autism do play some, they often play on their own. The want to play with other children in many cases, but lack the social skills to maintain or even form friendships. This brings anxiety, and pushes them to play on their own where they feel safe. They may show repetition in play, and might be so focused on something that there seems to be nothing that will drag their attention away from what they are doing.

Though these symptoms of autism in children are often quite obvious, there are some children who hide these well, or function so well in most cases that one symptom might be mistakenly thought to be a different problem at first. If a parent suspects that there are any problems, and that they may have a child with autism, they want to get a diagnosis as quickly as possible. There are many great programs for children with autism. It is much easier on the parent, child, and entire family once a proper diagnosis can be reached.

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Autism in Children - Recognizing Symptoms and Modes of Treatment

Autism, also known as infantile autism is a condition that is known to develop before the child turns three years old. The characteristic features of this condition are impairment of communication in these children and problem interacting socially. Some of the known symptoms of autism include:

• This condition is recognized only when the child is old enough to interact socially and noticed by the primary caregiver at home
• The most characteristic feature so autism in kids is noticed when the child starts withdrawing slowly and does not participate in the social gatherings
• Repetitive movements such as rocking and these children may also indulge in self-destructive behavior such as biting or bang their head repeatedly.
• Parents find these kids unresponsive and unable to make eye contact with them
• These kids start speaking later than usual and not very good at conversing with other children or adults

In order to identify the symptoms of autism, health professionals employ certain questionnaires and other instruments and also rely on their parents observations. Once some of the symptoms of this condition are recognized, there are other test can be used to confirm this diagnosis. A complete assessment usually involves multiple diagnoses conducted by a team of health professionals including a psychologist, neurologist psychiatrist, speech therapist and so on.

There are both genetic and environmental reasons that play a role in the development of autism. According to the research done on this topic, there are some genes that are responsible for this condition. Furthermore, certain conditions like manic depression, Fragile X Syndrome, epilepsy other learning disabilities.

Although the reasons that cause autism are not clear, scientists have been able to point out some factors that lead to autism. Besides genetic reasons, there are some abnormalities in the brain and changes in the level of neurotransmitters such as serotonin that could lead to this condition. These results are in the initial phase of research and require more work.

Although there is no sure-shot treatment for autism, there are medications, educational sessions and other modes of treatment and therapies that help these individuals recover. Medications may be given by physicians to alleviate symptoms of anxiety, depression or anticonvulsant drugs.

Behavioral therapy can help autistic kids by helping the infants develop social and language skills. There is also counseling available for parents and other members of the family so that they can understand what the child is going through and be supportive for them. There may be other therapies suggested for autism but parents have to be careful and use it only if it is supported by scientific evidence or under the guidance of their doctors.

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Autism in Children - Two Important Signs to Monitor That Indicate the Condition

Do you know that more and more people are being afflicted with autism spectrum disorder? This is a fact because many children are continually being diagnosed with this disease on a daily basis all over the world. In the United States alone, it is estimated that more than 2 million people are infected with the disease and the figure is likely to be increasing on a daily basis.

If you are a parent or an intending one, there are certain signs you need to monitor in your child to know if that child is having autism. The major signs to monitor usually affect the communicative and behavior skills of the patient. Read the below two important signs that can help you know whether your child is autistic or not. But of course, ensure that you get the doctor's confirmation before taking any action.

The first sign area you will like to watch out for is the inability of the child to display the needed social skill when it is time. A normal child is likely to show gestures and imitate certain words before he or she reaches one year and six months. If your child at this age cannot show this skill then watch out as he or she might be a victim of the condition.

Another is the behavior he or she is constantly exhibiting. An autistic child usually displays a repetitive characters like the repetition of some words when it is not necessary. He or she could also repeat certain actions such as flapping of hands. The habit is often referred to as stimming. A child with autism usually displays this habit.

These two signs, among others, should alert you to the presence of autism in your child. But of course, before making any decisions or arriving at any conclusions, you should talk to your doctor to examine your child and let you know what the true situation is.

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