1. Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3
years of life, and affects the brain's normal development
of social and communication skills.
By: Brittany Allen
2. Early signs of Autism
Delayed or lack of
speech.
Repetitive movement of
body such as Arms,
and head.
Impaired social skills.
Interest in activities or
play.
Seldom eye contact
with others.
3. Children and Autism
Autism effects boys 3-4
times more then girls.
Family income, educa-
tion, and lifestyle
don't seem to effect
the risk of autism.
Exact number of chil-
dren living with autism
is not known.
4. Related Developmental Disorder
Asperger Syndrome (similar to
autism but with normal lan-
guage development).
Rett Syndrome(Very different
from autism, and only occurs
in females).
Childhood Disintegrative Disor-
der (Rare condition where a
child learns skills, then loos-
es them by age 10).
Pervasive Developmental Dis-
order (Also called typical
autism).
5. Symptoms
Children with difficulties usu-
ally have trouble with:
Pretend play.
Social interactions
Verbal and non-verbal com-
munication.
Usually it is not noticed that
the child has something
wrong until they are at the
age of 18 months old.
Help is usually not seeked
until the child is about 2
years of age.
Some children appear normal
before the age of 1 or 2
and then suddenly
“regress” and lose lan-
guage or social skills.
When they loose these skills
at the age of 1 or 2 it is
called the regressive type
of autism.
Some people with autism
may also be sensitive to
sight, hearing, touch,
smell, or taste.
6. Social Interaction
Very withdrawn.
Does not play interactive
games well with others.
Is not very good at making
friends.
Does not respond very well
with eye contact or smiles
and almost always avoids
eye contact.
Shows a lack of empathy.
Prefers to spend time by
themselves, rather then
with others.
8. Play and Behavior
Play:
Does not imitate others.
Prefers solitary or ritualistic
play.
Does not pretend play.
Does not imaginative play.
Behavior:
Acts up.
Short attention span.
Strong need for sameness.
Narrow interests.
9. Signs and Tests
Babbling by 12 months.
Gesturing by 12 months (Point-
ing or waving).
Saying single words by 16
months.
Saying two-word spontaneous
phrases by 24 months.
Losing any language or social
skills at any age.
These children should receive
a hearing test, blood/lead
test, and screening test
since they show signs of
autism.
11. Medicine
Medicines are often used
to treat behavior or
emotional that people
with autism may have,
including:
Aggression
Anxiety
Attention Problems
Hyperactivity
Irritability
Mood Swings
Sleep difficulty....etc.
12. Treatment
Treatment is most successful when it is applied toward the
child's needs. An experienced team should design the
treatment for that particular child's needs. Those programs
include:
ABA (applied Behavior Analysis).
Medications depending on the behavior.
Occupational therapy.
Physical Therapy.
Speech-language therapy.
13.
14. Response to Sensory Information
Does not get startled or get unfocused by loud
noises.
Has low senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell or
taste.
May stay away from physical contact because it
is overwhelming or to hard to handle/take in.
Rubs surfaces, mouth, or licks objects.
Has a high tolerance for pain.
15. Diet
It has been shown that some
children with autism react
well to gluten-free foods.
Gluten is found in foods that
have wheat, rye, and bar-
ley.
Not all studies have been
proven that a diet change
works to help people with
autism, but it has been
shown that it helps!
