Autism Spectrum Disorder - An Idea.

Few days ago, I was hosting my talk show & got an amazing personality as my guest. She is globally renowned Autism researcher, blogger, therapist & founder of Cornerstone Preschool and Aloha Autism. She is none other than Dr. Jennifer Dustow. We exchanged a lot of deeper understanding about ASD. After the show, a thought blown my mind that I should make my network aware about this disorder on surface level. So, let's move to the detail.

Autism Spectrum Disorder alias ASD alias Autism is going to be the biggest threat for mankind. It’s not that much life threatening like Cancer or Cardiovascular diseases or Cerebral Stroke or any other critical illness. But what it makes is more painful and heart wrenching. It makes living pathetic. Because you can cope up with loss and bereavements sooner or later, but watching own kid growing with different ability is such painful that can turn your life into a hell. Though everyone has a different story but you’ll never want to raise your as unresponsive, inattentive, emotionless. That’s where the agony is. Let’s get into some deeper understanding.

What is Autism?

Autism is a complicated condition which includes problems with communication and behavior.?Though actual cause of this disease is still unknown, it’s scientifically approved that ill development and malfunction of brain is mostly responsible for this disorder. There is some genetic factor also. Family with one or more autistic member can have kid with ASD. Basically non coordination between left and right hemisphere of brain results in ASD. It generally seen from early childhood?when an infant is expected to reciprocate with eyes or smiles or any sort of expression. Within first 36 months of life, it becomes clear whether the kid has some disorder or not & it’s intensity. Accordingly treatment should be started along with lifestyle changes, dilatory control, empathetic care giving, speech therapy, auditory corrections (if needed)?etc.

What are the symptoms?

It’s not necessary that every kid with such disorder will show same type of symptoms. As every human being takes birth with different skill set, different IQ & EQ, kids with ASD may show variety of symptoms. Some of them which can be observed with naked eyes are,

1.??????Lack of eye contact.

2.??????Narrow range of interest or intense interest in particular thing.

3.??????Repetitive behavior. Doing same thing over and over like repeating same words continuously or rocking back and forth tirelessly.

4.??????Paying zero attention to others’ call or activity.

5.??????Unable to follow direction or fail to follow pointing.

6.??????Prefers no human touch. Unwilling to be held or cuddled like other kids.

7.??????Showing difficulty in understanding or using speech, gesture, typical common expressions, familiar tone or voice.

8.??????Talks rarely. Talks with incomprehensive words, or in flat or robotic voice.

9.??????Highly sensitive to sounds, touches, smiles or sounds which seem very common to others.

10.??Showing resistance to accept any change in daily schedule.

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Types of ASD.

Depending on symptoms, intensity and other functionary ?difficulties, ASD can be divided into 5 different types.

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·????????Asperger’s?syndrome.

·????????Childhood distinctive disorder or Heller’s syndrome.

·????????Kanner’s syndrome.

·????????Rett syndrome.

·????????Pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified.

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·????????Asperger’s Syndrome :-?Before 2013 it was called Asperger’s syndrome.?After 2013 it was named??Level - 1 ASD according to DSM – 5 diagnostic manual. Kids with this syndrome show?

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1.??????Inflexibility in thoughts and behaviors.

2.???????Face challenges in switching between activities.

3.??????Speak in flat monotone voice, face problems in executing any common or uncommon task.

4.??????Face difficulty in interacting with peers.

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·????????Childhood Distinctive Disorder (CDD) :-?It’s alternatively called Heller’s Syndrome. It generally occurs due to neuro-developmental?disorder defined by delayed onset of developmental problems like language, motor skills or social functions. Actual cause of CDD is unknown though researchers link it to neurobiology of brain. Surprisingly it’s most common is boys. Out of 10 affected kids, 9 will be boys and only 1 girl. Another interesting fact is that it can grow anytime within 3 years of age. A kid with normal development may be hit by CDD resulting loss in one or more following activities.

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1.??????Toileting skills.

2.??????Acquired languages or vocabularies.

3.??????Some common motor skills.

4.??????Social skills, specially adaptive behavior.

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·????????Rett syndrome :-?It’s a rare neuro – developmental disorder that can be found in infancy.?Mostly girl children get affected by this disorder. Bt may be found in boys too. This syndrome presents challenges that can affect every aspects of child’s life. Positive thing is that the kid may still enjoy life if properly cared by first degree contacts and caregivers. Common symptoms are

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1.??????Loss of standard movement and coordination between sensory organs and between limbs.

2.??????Challenges with communication and speech.

3.??????Breathing difficulties in some cases.

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·????????Kanner’s syndrome :- ?This syndrome was invented by Leo Kanner, a renowned psychiatrist of Johns Hopkins university and named after him. In 1943, he characterized it as Infantile Autism. Kids with this syndrome will appear attractive, intelligent, active, alert and smart. But with undergoing symptoms of this disorder like

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1.??????Lack of emotional attachment.

2.??????Uncontrolled speech.

3.??????Communication and interaction challenges.

4.??????Obsession with handling objects.

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·????????Pervasive Developmental disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS):-?PDD-NOS is a mild type of autism that presents a range of common symptoms like communication and interactional challenges. A kid may experience delay in speech, walking or other motor skills. PDD-NOS is sometimes referred to as “SUBTHRESHOLD AUTISM” as it’s a term to describe a person has some but not all symptoms of autism.

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