2. Autism is defined as…
“a developmental disorder that appears by age three and
that is variable in expression but is recognized and
diagnosed by impairment of the ability to form normal
social relationships, by impairment of the ability to
communicate with others, and by stereotyped behavior
patterns especially as exhibited by a preoccupation with
repetitive activities of restricted focus rather than with
flexible and imaginative ones”
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/autism).
Derives from the Greek word “autos” means “Isolated
self”
4. The DSM-IV says…
Autism is a Pervasive Developmental Disorders
PDD- “Refers to a group of conditions that involve
delays in the development of many basic skills, most
notably the ability to socialize with others, to
communicate, and to use imagination. Children with
these conditions often are confused in their thinking
and generally have problems understanding the
world around them.”
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/development-
disorder
5. History of Autism
From the early 1900’s all the way through the 1960’s autism
was placed under the umbrella of symptoms for
schizophrenia.
In 1908, Eugen Bleuler coined the word "autism" in
schizophrenic patients who screened themselves off and
were self-absorbed.
In 1943, the American child psychiatrist Leo Kanner
described 11 children with the following common traits:
impairments in social interaction, anguish for changes, good
memory, over sensitivity to certain stimuli (especially
sound), food problems, limitations in spontaneous activity,
good intellectual potential, often coming from talented
families. He called the children autistic.
6. Social Symptoms
Significant problems developing nonverbal
communication skills, such as eye-to-eye gazing, facial
expressions, and body posture.
Failure to establish friendships with children the same
age.
Lack of interest in sharing enjoyment, interests, or
achievements with other people.
Lack of empathy. People with autism may have difficulty
understanding another person's feelings, such as pain or
sorrow.
7. Communication
Delay in, or lack of, learning to talk. As many as 40% of people with
autism never speak.
Problems taking steps to start a conversation. Also, people with
autism have difficulties continuing a conversation after it has
begun.
Stereotyped and repetitive use of language. People with autism
often repeat over and over a phrase they have heard previously
(echolalia).
Difficulty understanding their listener's perspective. For example, a
person with autism may not understand that someone is using
humor. They may interpret the communication word for word and
fail to catch the implied meaning.
8. Behaviors
An unusual focus on pieces. Younger children with autism
often focus on parts of toys, such as the wheels on a car,
rather than playing with the entire toy.
Preoccupation with certain topics. For example, older
children and adults may be fascinated by video games,
trading cards, or license plates.
A need for sameness and routines. For example, a child
with autism may always need to eat bread before salad
and insist on driving the same route every day to school.
Stereotyped behaviors. These may include body rocking
and hand flapping.
9. Diagnoses
Typically diagnosed at age 3
A psychologist assesses the child based on the criteria of
the DSM-IV-TR.
IQ test
Behavioral and Developmental checklists
Speech and Occupational therapy assessments
Physicians study the patterns of social-emotional and
developmental growth of the child based on the 6 major
milestones of early life
11. Scores
ATEC scores range from zero to 180. The lower the score, the better. If
a child scores zero or close to zero, that child can no longer be
distinguished from non-autistic children and thus can be considered
fully recovered. The important benchmarks in scoring are as follows:
ATEC < 30. This level places the child in the top 10 percentile. A child
with score of less than 30 – or, better still, less than 20 – would have
some ability to conduct normal, two-way conversations, and more or
less behave normally. Such children have high chances of leading
normal lives as independent individuals.
ATEC < 50. This places the child in the 30th percentile level. The child
has good chances of being semi-independent. More importantly, he or
she will not likely need to be placed in an institution or “nut house”.
For many parents of autistic children, being able to achieve
improvement up to this level is already considered very significant.
ATEC > 104. Even though the maximum score is 180, any person with a
score of more than 104 would already be in the 90th percentile, and be
considered very severely autistic.
12. Causes
There is not one specific cause for autism. Due to this there
has been an extremely high rate of misdiagnosis.
ASD is classified as being a neurological disorder due to
this researchers are led to believe that there could be a
genetic predisposition with possible environmental triggers
It has been shown that autism can run in families but a
genetic pinpoint has yet to be discovered
ASDs tend to occur more often in people who have certain
genetic or chromosomal conditions. About 10% of children
with autism are also identified as having Down syndrome,
fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and other genetic
and chromosomal disorders.
13. Statistics
About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism
spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from
CDC's Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring
ASDs are reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and
socioeconomic groups.
ASDs are almost 5 times more common among boys (1 in
54) than among girls (1 in 252).
Parents who have a child with an ASD have a 2%–18%
chance of having a second child who is also affected
The majority (62%) of children the ADDM Network
identified as having ASDs did not have intellectual
disability
14. Treatment
Behavioral training and management uses positive
reinforcement, self-help, and social skills training to
improve behavior and communication. Many types of
treatments have been developed, including Applied
Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and sensory integration.
15. Treatment (cntd)
Speech Therapy-can help a child with autism improve
language and social skills to communicate more
effectively.
Occupational Therapy-helps a child with autism to learn to
process information from the senses (sight, sound,
hearing, touch, and smell) in more manageable way.
Physical therapy-therapy can help improve any
deficiencies in coordination and motor skills.
Medications are not typically used to treat Autism.
Sometimes are used to treat other aspects such as OCD
behaviors and anxiety.
16. Conclusion
Experts have not yet identified a way to
prevent autism.
With early intervention, proper therapies, and
persistence, those diagnosed with Autism can go on to
live an independent and fulfilling life.
