Autism

Autism/PDD

(Pervasive Developmental Disorders)

Autism is a complex neurodevelopment disorder that often interferes with a persons abilities to communicate and relate with others. Autism is characterized by three main symptoms; a reduced abilities to interpret the emotion and intention of others, a reduced capacity for social interactions, and repetitive behaviors and interests. Signs and symptoms of autism almost Always develop before a child is three years old, although the conditioning is sometimes not diagnosed until later. Typically, parents first become concerned when they notice that their child does not begin to talk or does not respond and interact like other children of the same age. Young children with autism do not usually develop speech normally and may seem to be deaf although hearing tests are normal. 75% of children diagnosed with autism suffer from mental retardation, and 35% of children diagnosed with autism suffers from epilepsy. Most Children with autism have difficulty mimicking the gestures of others. Autism also affects how a child perceives and processes sensory information.

Individuals with autism do not have the ability to interact or interpret the emotions of others. This is because children with autism often lack the interest in people. The children often suffer from emotional discord. This is some social emotional difficulties, like feeling a " disconnection from other people", describing themselves as " being buried inside myself",. These children also have of inferring and expressing thoughts and emotions, and they tend to have a difficult time participating in social-emotional expression. As children they tend not to cuddle , have a lack of eye contact and facial responsiveness, and a indifference or aversion and physical contact. As a result of this of behavior the parent often suspects that the child is deaf . The child may cling to a specific person. The attachedment of some children to their parents may be strange. A child may seem to recognize his or her mother by their smell. In some cases the child may seem normal the first few years of social development. As the child grows older a greater awareness of social interest in others may develop. Some of the least handicapped may eventually reach a stage in which they can became passively involved in other children's games or physical play, or include other children in their own activities. High functioning autistic individuals are usually able to recognize and express basic or simple emotion. They can recall and observably express happiness, sadness or anger. Although the complex emotion of pride and the emotion of embarrassment remain challenging to them.

Individuals with autism suffer from impairments in communication skills, including verbal and non verbal language. Language may be totally absent. When it does develop, it is often normal but very immature, for example the use of "you" when "I" is intended. They do not have the abilities to name objects or to use abstract terms. They also may have an unusual speech melody, such as a question like raise at the end of a statement or have a monotone tone of voice. For non verbal communication facial expressions and gestures are absent or at a minimum, if at all present, is socially inappropriate in form.

Even if there are no major abnormities in the language skills, communication is still often impaired by irrelevancies. A block in the comprehension of language may be an inability to understand jokes, puns, or sarcasm.

Children with Autism may also suffer from an impairment of imaginative activity. This may include the absence of Fantasy play with toys or the absence of playacting of adult roles, or imaginative activity may be restricted in content and repetitive and stereotyped form. This is opposite from normal pretend play. For example a child with the disorder may insist on limning the exact number of things in the same way over and over again, mimicking the actions of a television character.

A lot of children who suffer from autism tend to have repetitive behaviors and limited interests. In younger children there may be resistance or major reactions to the change in the environment. For example the child may scream when his or her seat at the dinner table is changed. they are often attached to objects such as a piece of string or a rubber band. Motor stereotypes include hand