autism…

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pervasive developmental disorder, autism, autism, complex developmental disorder that appears, in the first 3 years of life, it is sometimes diagnosed much later, affects the brain's normal development of social, communication skills, autism, spectrum that encompasses a wide range of behavior, common features include impaired social interactions, impaired verbal, nonverbal communication, restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, from moderate to severe, two related, milder conditions, asperger syndrome, "pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified", pdd-nos, autism, physical condition linked to abnormal biology, chemistry, in the brain, exact causes, abnormalities remain unknown, very active area of research, of factors that lead to autism, genetic factors, important, identical twins, more likely than fraternal twins, siblings to both have autism, similarly, language abnormalities, more common in relatives of autistic children, chromosomal abnormalities, neurological problems, more common in families, autism, a number of other possible causes, have been suspected, not proven, they involve digestive tract changes, diet, mercury poisoning, vaccine sensitivity, body's inefficient use of vitamins, minerals, exact number of children, autism is not known, estimates suggest that roughly 1 in 1,000 children, autism affects boys 3 to 4 times more often than girls, family income, education, lifestyle, affect the risk of autism, parents have heard that the mmr vaccine that children receive, autism, theory was based, in part, on two facts, incidence of autism has increased steadily, around the same time the mmr vaccine was introduced, second, children, the regressive form of autism, a type of autism that develops after a period of normal development, tend to start to show symptoms around the time the mmr vaccine is given, likely a coincidence due, age of children, time they receive this vaccine, several major studies have found no connection between the vaccine, autism, american academy of pediatrics, center, disease control, prevention report that, no proven link between autism, mmr vaccine, doctors attribute the increased incidence in autism to newer definitions of autism, term "autism" now includes a wider spectrum of children, a child who is diagnosed, high-functioning autism today, have been thought to simply be odd, strange 30 years ago, most parents of autistic children suspect that something is wrong by the time the child is 18 months old, seek help by the time the child is 2, children, autism typically have difficulties in verbal, nonverbal communication, social interactions, pretend play, aggression, toward others, self, children, autism appear normal, age 1, suddenly "regress", lose language, social skills they had previously gained, the regressive type of autism, autism, perform repeated body movements, unusual attachments to objects, have unusual distress, routines, changed, individuals, experience sensitivities, in the senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, such children, refuse to wear "itchy" clothes, become unduly distressed, forced, the sensitivity of skin, combination, areas affected in varying degrees, communication, unable to start, sustain a social conversation, develops language slowly, not at, repeats words, memorized passages, commercials, doesn't refer to self correctly, says "want water", the child means "i want water", uses nonsense rhyming, communicates, gestures instead of words, social interaction, a lack of empathy, does not make friends, withdrawn, prefers to spend time alone, not respond to eye contact, smiles, avoid eye contact, treat others, objects, does not play interactive games, response to sensory information, has heightened, low senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, seems to have a heightened, low response to pain, withdraw from physical contact, it is overstimulating, overwhelming, does not startle at loud noises, find normal noises painful, hold hands over ears, rubs surfaces, mouths, licks objects, play, little pretend, imaginative play, doesn't imitate the actions of others, prefers solitary, ritualistic play, behaviors, has a short attention span, uses repetitive body movements, a strong need, sameness, "acts up", intense tantrums, has very narrow interests, demonstrates perseveration, gets stuck on a single topic, task, aggression to others, self, overactive, very passive, all children should have routine developmental exams by their pediatrician, further testing needed if there is concern on the part, the clinician, parents, particularly true whenever a child fails to meet any, language milestones, babbling by 12 months, gesturing, pointing, waving bye-bye, by 12 months, single words by 16 months, two-word spontaneous phrases by 24 months, not just echoing, loss of any language, social skills at any age, children might receive a hearing evaluation, a blood lead test, a screening test, autism, checklist, autism in toddlers, chat, autism screening questionnaire, a health care provider experienced, in the diagnosis, treatment of autism, the actual diagnosis, no biological test, autism, diagnosis, very specific criteria laid out, book, the diagnostic, statistical manual iv, pervasive developmental disorders, asperger syndrome, autism, normal language development, rett syndrome, very different from autism, occurs in females, childhood disintegrative disorder, rare condition where a child acquires skills, loses them by age 10, pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified, pdd-nos, atypical autism, an evaluation of autism, complete physical, neurologic examination, specific diagnostic screening tool, autism diagnostic interview , revised, adi-r, autism diagnostic observation schedule, ados, childhood autism rating scale, cars, gilliam autism rating scale, pervasive developmental disorders screening test-stage 3, children, suspected autism, have genetic testing, looking, chromosome abnormalities, perhaps metabolic testing, autism encompasses a broad spectrum of symptoms, a single, brief evaluation cannot predict a child's true abilities, ideally, a team of different specialists, evaluate the child, might evaluate speech, language, communication, thinking abilities, motor skills, success at school, factors, people, reluctant to have a child diagnosed, labeling the child, failure to make a diagnosis, lead to failure to get the treatment, services the child needs, an early, intensive, appropriate treatment program, greatly improve the outlook, most young children, autism, most programs, build on the interests, the child, highly structured schedule of constructive activities, visual aids, successful, geared toward the child's particular needs, an experienced specialist, team should design the individualized program, a variety of effective therapies, applied behavior analysis, aba, speech-language therapy, medications, occupational therapy, physical therapy, sensory integration, vision therapy, common, little research supporting effectiveness, best treatment plan, use a combination, of techniques, applied behavioral analysis, aba, program, younger children, an autism spectrum disorder, highly effective in many cases, aba uses a one-on-one teaching approach that relies on reinforced practice of various skills, goal, get the child close to typical developmental functioning, aba programs, conducted, a child's home, under the supervision of a behavioral psychologist, unfortunately, programs, very expensive, widely adopted by school systems, parents often must seek funding, staffing from other sources, hard to find in many communities, teacch, another program, the treatment, education of autistic, related communication handicapped children, teacch, teacch, developed, a statewide program in north carolina, uses picture schedules, visual cues, help the child work independently, to organize, structure environments, though teacch tries to enhance a child's adaptation, skills, an acceptance, the deficits associated, autism spectrum disorders, in contrast to aba programs, teacch programs, not anticipate that children, achieve typical developmental progress in response, medicine, medicines, treat behavior, emotional problems that people, autism, hyperactivity, impulsiveness, attention problems, irritability, mood swings, outbursts, tantrums, aggression, extreme compulsions that the child finds it impossible to suppress, sleep difficulty, anxiety, diet, children, autism appear, a gluten-free, a casein-free diet, gluten is found in foods containing wheat, rye, barley, casein is found in milk, cheese, dairy products, not all experts agree that dietary changes, make a difference, not all reports studying this method have shown positive results, considering these, dietary changes, seek guidance from both a gastroenterologist, doctor who specializes, in the digestive system, a registered dietitian, want to be sure that the child is still receiving adequate calories, nutrients, a balanced diet, approaches, beware, widely publicized treatments, autism that, not have scientific support, reports of "miracle cures" that, not live up to expectations, child has autism, to talk, parents of children, autism, talk, autism specialists, follow the progress of research in this area, is rapidly developing, at one time, was enormous excitement, using secretin infusions, after many studies have been conducted in many laboratories, possible that secretin is not effective after, research is ongoing, organizations, provide additional information, help on autism, autism resources, autism remains a challenging condition, individuals, families, the outlook today is much better than it was a generation ago, autism were placed in institutions, appropriate therapy, the symptoms of autism, improved, though most people, have some symptoms throughout lives, autism, able to live, families, community, outlook depends on the severity, the autism, level of therapy the individual receives, autism, associated, disorders that affect the brain, tuberous sclerosis, mental retardation, fragile x syndrome, autism, develop seizures, stresses of dealing, autism, lead to social, emotional complications, family, caregivers, autism, parents, suspect, developmental problem long, a diagnosis is made, autism, concerned that child is not developing, .