National Autism Awareness Month

What is Autism?

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first two years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with any form of autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

Autism is one of the five disorders that fall under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by “severe impairment in several areas of development.” Autism is the most common of the PDDs, affecting an estimated 1 in 100 births. Roughly translated, this means as many as 1.5 million Americans today are believed to have some form of autism, and this number is on the rise.

Based on statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and other governmental agencies, autism is growing at a startling rate of 10-17 percent per year. At this rate, the Autism Society estimates that the prevalence of autism could reach 4 million Americans in the next decade.

Autism knows no racial, ethnic, or social boundaries; family income levels; lifestyle choices; or educational levels, and can affect any family and any child. Although the overall incidence of autism is consistent around the globe, it is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls.

What are the most common characteristics of autism?

People with autism process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present.

Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits:

• Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs, using gestures or pointing instead of words
• Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
• Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason; showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
• Preference to being alone; aloof manner
• Tantrums
• Difficulty mixing with others
• Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
• Little or no eye contact
• Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
• Sustained odd play
• Spinning objects
• Obsessive attachment to objects
• Apparent over-sensitivity or under–sensitivity to pain
• No real fears of danger
• Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
• Non-responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests in normal range

Learn the Signs

The characteristic behaviors of autism may or may not be apparent in infancy (18 – 24 months), but usually become obvious during early childhood (24 months to 6 years).

As part of a well-baby/well-child visit, your child’s doctor should do “developmental screening,” asking specific questions about your baby’s progress. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) lists five behaviors that signal further evaluation is warranted:

• Does not babble or coo by 12 months
• Does not gesture (point, wave, grasp) by 12 months
• Does not say single words by 16 months
• Does not say two-word phrases on his or her own by 24 months
• Has any loss of any language or social skill at any age
  

Having any of these five “red flags” does not mean your child has autism. But because the characteristics of the disorder vary so much, a child showing these behaviors should have further evaluations by a multidisciplinary team. This team may include a neurologist, psychologist, developmental pediatrician, speech/language therapist, learning consultant, or other professional knowledgeable about autism.

Source: www.autism-society.org

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