A child is the greatest gift, and once you have one, all you want to do is protect them. You start to notice how they act as they get older, and some parents wonder if their child has any abnormalities.
A diagnosis of ASD can be particularly frightening because no parent is ever prepared to hear that their child is not happy and healthy. You might be perplexed by conflicting treatment recommendations or unsure of the most effective way to assist your child. Alternatively, you might have been informed that ASD is a lifelong, incurable condition, causing you to be concerned that nothing you do will have any effect.
Early detection of autism has a significant impact. You can get your child the help they need to learn, grow, and thrive by recognizing the early symptoms.
What is autism?
A developmental disorder that has an impact on how people behave, learn, communicate, and interact with others.
Autism is a condition that lasts a lifetime, and signs and symptoms can begin in very young children. Autism cannot be cured, but therapies and support services can help a person with ASD improve their symptoms and quality of life.
What is a spectrum disorder?
Because autism is a spectrum disorder, individuals can exhibit a wide range of symptoms and varying degrees of severity. A person with ASD, on the other hand, will exhibit a number of these behaviors and symptoms.
Signs and symptoms of autism
A person with autism spectrum disorder may exhibit a variety of symptoms. Some adults and children without autism may exhibit similar behaviors and symptoms, but not all adults or children with autism will exhibit every symptom.
A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders may not be made until a child reaches school age, depending on the severity of their symptoms.
There’s two main features characterize autism spectrum disorders:
- Persistent deficits in social communication and interaction
People with ASD may have difficulty developing skills in social interaction and communication.The following are some characteristics of ASD-related social interaction and communication:
- not making consistent eye contact to get someone’s attention
- rarely point to or hold up objects to show you things
- not responding consistently when their name is called
- show little interest in other children
- rarely initiate games like peekaboo
- rarely do pretend play
- Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and/or activities
People with ASD may exhibit unusual behaviors or interests. These behaviors or interests set ASD apart from conditions defined by problems with social communication and interaction only. ASD-related restricted or repetitive interests and behaviors include the following:
- have a strong interest in particular toys or objects.
- lines up toys or other items and becomes agitated when the order is altered.
- flaps hands, rocks body, or spins self in circles
- repeats words or phrases over and over (called echolalia)
- has unusual responses to things’ sound, smell, taste, appearance, and feel.
- prefer their environment to remain unchanged.
Parenting a child with autism comes with its own unique set of challenges and rewards. It’s important to stay positive, as autism spectrum disorder is a lifelong journey for both you and your child. Nurture Pods can help you navigate this process with the best autism therapies and treatment options available. Reach out to us to get the support and services you need.
Written by: Alex Liau
Published on 5 February 2024
