What do you know about Autism?

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder? Autism Spectrum Disorder, also called ASD, is a complex group of developmental disabilities, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, or other behavioral challenges. The severity of impairments varies from person to person. ASD includes a milder form of autism known as Asperger syndrome, the rare condition called Rett syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS).

Children with ASD also have a higher than normal risk of other medical conditions, including Fragile X syndrome (which causes mental retardation), tuberous sclerosis (in which tumors grow on the brain), epileptic seizures, Tourette syndrome, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorder. Symptoms usually present within the first 3 years of life and affect individuals throughout their lifespan. Some children with ASD seem to develop normally until around 12-24 months, followed by a period where they stop gaining new skills or they lose the skills they once had.

What are signs/symptoms of ASD? No two children have the same symptoms or combination of symptoms. Symptoms may include, but are not limited to:

Social Impairments:

• Lack of eye contact
• Limited response to parent's smile and/or facial expressions
• Prefers playing alone with difficulties making friends
• Difficulty understanding, acknowledging, and accepting other's feelings and space boundaries
• Avoids physical contact
• Difficulty attending to objects/actions others are pointing to
• Doesn't point to objects/actions to get others to look at, but may instead place parent's hand on desired object and expect wanted action to be completed

Communication Difficulties:

• Delay or lack of language development
• Repeats words or phrases of caregivers and/or movies without understanding the meaning
• Doesn't respond to name being called, but demonstrates normal hearing skills
• Lacks pretend/imaginative play skills
• Uses few or no gestures to get needs met
• May have a good memory for numbers, songs, colors, or specific topic of interest without ability to understanding or consistently use information appropriately
• May not show interest in communicating with others
• Difficulty starting or continuing a conversation

Behavioral Differences:

• Lines up toys or other objects
• Likes routines, order, and rituals
• Likes parts of objects that spin, as opposed to playing with the object as intended
• Gets unusually upset with minor changes in routine or for reasons not clear to you
• May have unusual or intense, but narrow interests
• May be over-sensitive or under-sensitive to pain, smells, sounds, light, and/or touch
• Unusual eating and sleep habits
• Obsessed with a few activities, doing them repeatedly throughout the day
• May enjoy activities such as rocking, spinning, hand flapping, finger twirling
• Walks on tip-toes

What causes ASD? The cause of ASD is unknown. It is a biological disorder and is not related to poor parenting. There is ongoing research in this area.

Who is affected with ASD? A recent study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics reports autism rates of 1 in 91 American children. This is roughly 1.5 million individuals in the United States, with tens of millions world-wide. Reports indicate males are four times more likely to have ASD than females. Autism spectrum disorders affect all ethnic and socioeconomic groups and every age group, but one is not affected more than another.

How is ASD diagnosed? Autism must be diagnosed by an expert, such as a developmental pediatrician, pediatric neurologist, pediatric clinical psychologist, or a team of experts including a pediatrician, psychiatrist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and psychologist. Diagnosis may be based on several types of evaluation, including clinical observation, questionnaires relating to the child's development, parent/caregiver interview, or medical tests in order to rule out other causes of the child's behavior and symptoms. Because ASD varies widely in severity and symptoms, it may go unrecognized in its milder forms.

Is there a cure? There is no cure for autism, but treatment is available. The sooner a child gets treatment, the better the chances are for a child to make progress. Treatment varies based on the symptoms and needs of the child but may include speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavior modification, or special diet.

What do I do if I have concerns? If you have questions or concerns regarding your child's development, please contact your child's physician. If your child is under the age of 3 years, contact the child's physician or you may contact the Crawford County Birth to Three Program at 608-357-2332 or the Grant County Birth to Three Program at 608-935-2776.

Is there a community support group? For more information relating to Autism, you are invited to attend the Autism Support/Resource Group meetings held the 2nd Thursday of each month, at 6:00 pm, at Family Resource Center, 800 East Taylor Street, Prairie du Chien. If you would like further information on the Support/Resource Group meetings, please contact Juli Smith, Speech Therapy, or Traci Konichek, Birth to Three Program, at Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital at 608-357-2339.