AUTISM

WHAT IS AUTISM
   Autism or autism spectrum disorder is a complex neurological and developmental disorder that affects social, language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. It is called a "spectrum" disorder because of it's range of symptoms and severity. It affects how a person interacts, acts and communicate with others, and also how they learn. It usually begins in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life. Autism decreases the individual's ability to communicate and emotionally relate to others and this makes it hard for them to express themselves through words, facial expressions, gestures and touch. People with autism may have restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, which can cause an impairment in social functioning and communication disturbances. They can be chatty or silent, affectionate or cold. It is a broad diagnosis, each child with autism is likely to have a unique pattern of behavior and level of severity from low functioning to high functioning. People with autism show uneven skill developments. They may have problems in certain areas such as communication skills, but have other exceptional skills such as solving math problems, art and creating music. For this reason, it can include people with high IQ's to lower than normal intelligence. This disorder may range from mild to severe. It can be an handicap that limits an individual, and can sometimes be a disability that may require institutional care. Autism occurs about four to five times more often in boys than girls. Family,income, lifestyle, or educational levels do not affect a child's chance of being autistic.

CAUSES
   The exact cause of autism spectrum disorder is not known, but research suggests that most cases of autism, appear to be caused by a combination of autism risk genes and environmental factors which influences early brain development.

SYMPTOMS
   Some children show signs of autism from birth. While other children may develop normally for the first few months or years, but then suddenly become withdrawn or even lose language skills they've already acquired.  Here are: Early Signs Of Autism In Babies to be on the lookout for.
1. Failure to mimic sounds or facial expressions by 9 months.
2. Fails to respond to his or her name.
3. Poor hand control.
4. Doesn't gesture, point or wave by 14 months.
5 Has poor eye contact and lacks facial expression.
6. Intense focus on one item.
7. Doesn't babble or coo by
7 Doesn't respond with a smile or happy expression by 6 months.
8. lack of back-and-forth play.
   Early symptoms may be interpreted as signs of a well-behaved baby     because they are quiet and undemanding.
Other Signs Of Autism
1. Repetitive, stereotyped body movements such as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping.
2. Doesn't say two-word phrases by 24 months.
3. Inability to speak, delayed speech, or loss of previous ability to say words or sentences.
4. Failure to recognize other people’s feelings or facial expressions.
5. Physical problems such as constipation, and poor sleeping.
6. Tendency to eat items that are not food.
7. Social communication, interaction and withdrawal.
8. Self-injurious behavior like head-banging.
9. Lack of empathy.
10. Poor coordination while running or climbing.
11. Inappropriately approaches a social interaction by being aggressive or disruptive.
12. Moves constantly and resistant to change.
13. Some children develop seizures.
14. Sensitivity to light, sound and touch.
15. Can't play interactively with other children.
16. Doesn't appear to understand simple questions or directions.
17. They may seem not to notice people, objects, or activities in their surroundings.
18. Resists cuddling and holding and seems to prefer playing alone .
20. Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
   Some children with autism become more engaged as they mature and show fewer disturbances in behavior and eventually may lead normal or near-normal lives. While others continue to have difficulty with language or social skills.

TYPES AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
There are three different types of Autism Spectrum Disorders:
1. Autistic Disorder Or Classic Autism- People with autistic disorder have intellectual disability. They usually lack social and communication skills, are speech impaired and have unusual behaviors and interests.

2. Asperger Syndrome-  People with Asperger syndrome  have some milder
symptoms of autistic disorder. They do not suffer from intellectual disability, however they might have social challenges and unusual behaviors and interests.

3. Pervasive Developmental Disorder Or Atypical Autism- These types meet some, not all of the criteria for autistic disorder or Asperger syndrome, The symptoms might cause only social and communication challenges. They have milder symptoms than autistic disorder.

RISK FACTORS
  Autism spectrum disorder affects children of all races but they are some  certain factors that increase a child's risk, they are:
1. Genetics- Children who have a sibling or parent with an autism spectrum disorder are at a higher risk of also having an autism spectrum disorder.
2. Medical conditions- It tend to occur in people who have certain other
medical conditions, such as Down syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, fragile X syndrome and other chromosomal disorders.
3. Drugs- Some harmful drugs taken during pregnancy have been linked
with a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder.
4. Sex of the child- Boys are about four to five times more likely to develop autism spectrum disorder than girls.
5. Parents' ages (Advance age).
6. Maternal illness during pregnancy .
7. Extremely preterm babies.
8. Certain difficulties during birth, particularly those involving periods of oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain.

TREATMENT
   It's important to diagnosis autism very early, because while there is no cure for autism, intensive and early treatment can make a big difference. These treatments include therapies for behavior and communication, skills
training, and medicines to control symptoms. This will increase the child's ability to grow and learn new skills.
Research has also suggested that a woman can reduce her risk of having a child with autism by eating a diet rich in folic acid or taking prenatal vitamins containing folic acid (at least 600 mcg a day) during conception.