Autism spectrum disorder in children - Part 3
When do you start seeing the signs of autism?
Signs of autism typically appear during early childhood with the average age of diagnosis being three to six years old. Some of the behaviours associated with autism include delayed learning of language, difficulty making eye contact or holding a conversation, narrow or intense interests, poor motor skills, and sensory sensitivities. A person on the spectrum might follow many of these behaviours or just a few or many others besides.
What are the warning signs of autism spectrum disorder?
It includes, the child doesn’t speak, or has delayed speech, trouble in understanding other people’s feelings or expressing their own, performs repetitive movements like rocking, spinning, hand-flapping, resists cuddling or holding, little or no eye contact, lack of interest in peer relationships, prefers to be alone, lack of spontaneous or make-believe play, sensory sensitivities to light, sound or touch, and persistent fixation on objects or parts of objects like the wheels on a toy.
What If my child shows some of these symptoms?
If your child is showing these behaviours, mention it to your paediatrician. No need to panic because there are a lot of different things, including normal delays that may be going on. Whatever it is, it will probably make you feel better to get a professional opinion. If your doctor is concerned please ask for a referral to a specialist who can conduct a more in-depth evaluation. Specialists include developmental paediatricians, Child Neurologists, Child psychologists or Psychiatrists.
How is autism diagnosed?
Diagnosing autism involves developmental screening and a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. Even though autism can be diagnosed as early as age of two years, most children are not diagnosed with ASD until after age four years. Developmental screening looks to see if children are learning basic skills when they should, or if they may have developmental delays. The next step for diagnosis is a comprehensive evaluation, which is an in-depth review that looks at a child’s behaviour and overall development, and generally includes an interview with the parents by a multidisciplinary team. There is often accompanying hearing and vision screening, along with neurological and genetic testing.
What does the spectrum mean?
Autism can cause significant social, communication, and behavioural challenges, and is defined as a “spectrum condition” as it affects individuals differently and also in varying degrees from border to severely impaired. The learning, problem-solving, and cognitive abilities of those with autism have a wide range, spread across a spectrum of severity.
Is there a cure for autism?
Autism is treatable, but not curable. Individuals with autism do not “outgrow” autism. Early identification and early interventions show a better prognosis.
We have to understand that there’s no one-size-fits-all treatment for autism. Treatment for autism is usually focused on a combination of different therapies, tailored to the individual’s needs and symptoms.
The most effective treatments include applied behavioural analysis (ABA), occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, pharmacological therapy, music therapy etc.
(To be continued)
Answers provided by: Minusha Jaleel. M P, Senior Clinical Psychologist, QISH, Doha
(If you have any queries, you can send it to editor@pen.com.qa)
