What is autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition involving persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. While autism is considered a lifelong disorder, the degree of impairment in functioning because of these challenges varies between individuals with autism. Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders Early signs of this disorder can be noticed by parents/caregivers or pediatricians before a child reaches one year of age. However, symptoms typically become more consistently visible by the time a child is 2 or 3 years old. In some cases, the functional impairment related to autism may be mild and not apparent until the child starts school, after which their deficits may be pronounced when amongst their peers. Social communication deficits may include 1: • Decreased sharing of interests with others • Difficulty appreciating their own & others' emotions • Aversion to maintaining eye contact • Lack of proficiency with use of non-verbal gestures • Stilted or scripted speech • Interpreting abstract ideas literally • Difficulty making friends or keeping them Restricted interests and repetitive behaviors may include 1: • Inflexibility of behavior, extreme difficulty coping with change • Being overly focused on niche subjects to the exclusion of others • Expecting others to be equally interested in those subjects • Difficulty tolerating changes in routine and new experiences • Sensory hypersensitivity, e.g., aversion...

• Afrikaans • العربية • Asturianu • Беларуская (тарашкевіца) • Български • Bosanski • Català • Čeština • Cymraeg • Dansk • Ελληνικά • Español • Euskara • فارسی • Français • Galego • 한국어 • Հայերեն • हिन्दी • Hrvatski • Bahasa Indonesia • עברית • Kiswahili • Lietuvių • Lombard • Македонски • Nederlands • 日本語 • Norsk bokmål • Occitan • ଓଡ଼ିଆ • Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча • Polski • Português • Română • Русский • Shqip • Simple English • Slovenščina • کوردی • Српски / srpski • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски • Suomi • Svenska • ไทย • Türkçe • Українська • Tiếng Việt • 粵語 • 中文 • Autism spectrum condition (ASC), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) • Formerly: Repetitively stacking or lining up objects is a common trait associated with autism. Difficulties in Onset Early childhood Duration Lifelong Causes Based on combination of clinical observation of behavior and development and comprehensive diagnostic testing completed by a team of qualified professionals (including clinical psychologists, neuropsychologists, pediatricians, and speech-language pathologists) Management Frequency • 1 in 100 children (1%) worldwide Autism, formally called autism spectrum disorder ( ASD) and autism spectrum condition ( ASC), autism spectrum. There are many theories about There is no known method to prevent or cure autism. Many forms of Classification Spectrum model Before the The DSM-5 and ICD-11 use different categorisation tools to define this spectrum. DSM-5 uses a "level" system, which ranks how in need o...

There’s a lot of variation in how autism presents from person to person. Some people communicate by speaking. Others use nonverbal communication. There’s also a wide range in intellectual and self-care abilities. An autism diagnosis reflects this by using Support Levels of 1, 2, or 3. These levels show how much support a person needs, with 3 as the highest level. Myth #1: People with autism don’t feel empathy or emotions. In fact, they feel deep empathy and have strong feelings, but they may have a hard time showing it. Myth #2: People with autism can’t handle change. Predictable routines and structure help all people feel safe and comfortable. Change can cause anxiety. You may see Myth #3: People with autism don’t like to be touched. Autism and commonly co-occur. Some avoid certain sensations and have a heightened sensitivity to touch and other senses. But others may seek out these sensations. For many years, autism was an “umbrella” diagnosis that covered: • Asperger’s syndrome • Pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) • Rett syndrome • Childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD or Heller’s syndrome) • Autistic disorder This changed in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). In the DSM-5, Asperger’s syndrome, PDD-NOS, and CDD are no longer listed as diagnoses. There is only one diagnosis of “autism spectrum disorder.” (Rett syndrome is now listed as a separate genetic disorder.) Autism isn’t a learni...