Autism is a complex developmental condition that appears during the first three years of life. It is one of the most severe forms of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), which broadly means problems with language, difficulty in relating to other people, including parents, and marked routines associated with a poverty of imagination. Though the exact cause of autism is unclear at present, it appears to be caused my chemical and structural abnormalities in the brain.
However, most cases have no identifiable underlying condition and it is certainly not caused by deviant parenting, emotional trauma or childhood vaccines. Some, but not all, children may have an associated mental retardation with this disorder. There is still a lack of awareness about this condition, which knows no ethnic, social or geographical boundaries.
Children with autism tend to present a combination of symptoms in varying proportions. These tend to affect their communication skills, behavior and development in early years of life. These children have problems with language and speech. These include delayed language acquisitions, poor comprehension of what is said to them, difficulty in initiating and maintaining conversations, monotonous tones, repeating the same phrases over and over again, and limited understanding of ideas.
Parents of a child with autism may complain that their child does not react to cuddling and does not smile as a normal child of that age does. Such a child may also show extreme indifference to others.
There is also a lack of attachment behavior, which becomes evident when the child does not seek comfort or help when he or she is hurt or distressed. Such a child prefers to play alone and does not mix with other children of the same age, although the child may enjoy the company of younger children.
Unusual behaviors form an important component in autism in children. The child observes some marked routines and rituals, such as a demand for the same toy and getting attached to the same items like a piece of crockery or a piece of wire. The child dislikes changes and imposing change forcibly or disrupting their routines may precipitate rage reactions or violent behaviors.
Unusual facial or body movement, hand flapping, head banging and too much or too little sensitivity to pain, sound, heat and cold, may also be seen in these children. Sounds or visual stimuli that are tolerated my normal children may cause pain, confusion and fear in some of them.
In addition to these traits, epileptic convulsions tend to occur in some of these children, but usually not until their late childhood. Some autism patients may be remarkably good in isolated abilities like music, computers and mathematics.
As there aren’t any specific drugs to treat autism, the diagnosis of autism cause a great upheaval in family. Drugs are used only to treat specific symptoms of autism. These drugs do not cure the condition, although they can certainly be helpful in reducing undesirable behaviors like hyperactivity, aggressiveness and self-injury.
Though autism is a lifelong condition, a positive attitude toward the child on the part of parents, relatives, friends and teachers goes a long way in developing the autistic child´s potential. Early diagnosis and appropriate interventions can significantly minimize the child´s difficulties, thus helping such a child to lead a fulfilling life.
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