Your Childrens Health

Autism is generally caused by abnormalities in the brain functions or structures. Using new research tools to study brain growth, scientists are starting to discover how abnormalities occur.

A child with autism may seem indifferent, remote and unable to form bonds with other people.  Usually they cannot understand other people’s thoughts, feelings or needs.  Language and intelligence fail to fully develop, which makes communication and relationships hard.

Children with autism engage in repetitive activities such as lining up building blocks in the same patterns and orders each time they use them. They also tend to rock back and forth and bang their heads when upset. Some children can be sensitive to sound, touch, smell and sight.

Children with autism tend not to follow typical patterns of childhood development. There may be hints of autism at childbirth. It is normally noticed when the child slips further behind children of the same age. Some children start off well. At eighteen to thirty six months old, suddenly the child rejects people, they act strangely and they can lose the language and social skills that they have already developed. Here are some knows symptoms of Autism:

•  Does not coo or babble by 12 months of age
•  Does not point, wave or grasp by 12 months old
•  Cannot say two worded phrases on their own
•  Has any language or social skill loss at any age

Parents, teacher and caregivers can determine problems in an autistic child. These are a few examples:

•  The child does not respond to their own name
•  Has a hard time explaining what they want
•  They have intense wild tantrums
•  Walking on toes
•  Doesn’t understand how to play with toys

There is no known cure for autism, although early intensive education can help them to learn skills. The intense way of doing this is to help the child play, talk, interact with others and help them to understand how to care for some of their own needs. Medicines can relieve symptoms and help some people, but intense teaching skills are currently the most effective.

If you have any concerns or you are seeing any of these signs in your child, contact your family physician.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 15th, 2006 at 12:42 am and is filed under Uncategorized, Pregnancy and Newborns, Medical Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.