Symptoms & Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is characterized by impaired development of communication, social interaction, and ability to relate to others. The disorder may vary from severe mental problems to mild abnormalities. Autism is also sometimes found in association with other mental disorders which may increase the severity of the abnormality. Also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs), people with this disorder have pervasive impairment in thinking, feeling and comprehending things. Such problems are normally identified in early childhood due to the reduced development of child's senses or mental abilities.

Symptoms

Although, one should understand that each autistic person is different from the other and you cannot generalize the symptoms of Autism, there are some disabilities which are common and are mostly associated with the underdeveloped social skills of a person. Here are some commonly observed traits in autistic children:

* Delay in speech with identifiable speech patterns. Often when these children try to copy someone they do it with precise intonation, often repeating word to word what has been said.

* The tone of speech may be high pitched or flat.

* These children often lack the ability to understand changes in tone or body language to express irony, sarcasm or humor.

* Lack of eye contact

* Inability to understand the perspective of the second person, and hence such people are often concrete minded.

Autism, in the past had also often been confused with childhood schizophrenia. However, when the symptoms were found to differ in many ways, the disorder was distinguished from other mental problems which were seemed similar.

Treatment

Finding a permanent cure for autism can be more difficult than it seems, however if you do some research you'll find loads of treatments offered for autism. But if you are looking for scientifically proven treatments, there are two kinds of therapies which are believed to be effective. The first is the ' Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA)'. This approach does not involve use of medication and is based on planning to achieve measurable goals. The second is Risperdal (risperidone), an antipsychotic medication called which is amazingly the first and only medication to be specifically approved to be used by autistic people.

However, one must understand that there is no perfect cure for autism found yet. It is required that the parents seek assistance of a trusted expert so that their child can be helped in the best possible manner.

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