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,
education, and
lifestyle don't seem to
effect the risk of
autism.
 Exact number of
children living with
autism is not known.

4. Related Developmental Disorder
 Asperger Syndrome (similar
to autism but with normal
language development).
 Rett Syndrome(Very
different from autism, and
only occurs in females).
 Childhood Disintegrative
Disorder (Rare condition
where a child learns skills,
then looses them by age
10).
 Pervasive Developmental
Disorder (Also called typical
autism).

5. Symptoms
 Children with difficulties  Some children appear
usually have trouble with: normal before the age of 1
 Pretend play. or 2 and then suddenly
 Social interactions “regress” and lose
 Verbal and non-verbal language or social skills.
communication.  When they loose these
 Usually it is not noticed skills at the age of 1 or 2 it
that the child has is called the regressive
something wrong until type of autism.
they are at the age of 18  Some people with autism
months old. may also be sensitive to
 Help is usually not seeked sight, hearing, touch,
until the child is about 2 smell, or taste.
years of age.

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 Very withdrawn.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.

7. I can't
tell
you
how I
feel

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
(Pointing 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.

10. All I can do is be
me!

11. Medicine
Medicines are often  Aggression
used to treat behavior  Anxiety
or emotional that  Attention Problems
 Hyperactivity
people with autism may  Irritability
have, including:  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.

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
barley.
 Not all studies have been
proven that a diet change
works to help people with
autism, but it has been
shown that it helps!

17. References
 Autismsupport.dmum.org
 Http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002494/
 Google images