What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. People with ASD may behave, communicate, interact, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. There is often nothing about how they look that sets them apart from other people. The abilities of people with ASD can vary significantly.

Signs & Symptoms

People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behviors or interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention, It is important to note that some people without ASD might also have some of these same symptoms.**

Other well known symptoms or characteristics:

Repetive behaviors like hand-flapping, rocking, jumping, or twirling, also known as stimming.

Constant moving (pacing) and “hyper” behavior
Fixations on certain activities or subjects
Specific routines or rituals (getting upset when a routine is changed, even a little)

NOTE: Not every individual has the same symptoms

**source: Center for Disease Control, www.cdc,gov

diagnosis

Diagnosis of ASD can start as early as 15-18 months. Most physicians will start at the age of 2.

Although, there is no medical (genetics or otherwise) to diagnose ASD, doctors rely or behavioral analysis and developmental milestones.

Some clinicians use the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) to provide critera to help diagnose ASD.

Some of the criteria noted in DSM-5 are:

Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction acros multiple contexts
Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging from poorly integrated verbal communication to abnormalties in eye contact and body language
Deficits in maintaining and understanding relationships, ranging from adjusting behaviom to suit various social contexts to difficulties sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

The criteria also discusses at length the severity of these deficits in which to base the diagnosis on and to what specifity to associate.

Reference: American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 5th Ed. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association; 2013.

treatment & services

There is no known cure for ASD. There are treatment and rehabilitative services that can aid in assisting individuals with autism manage symptoms that interfere with daily functions. These treatments are behavioral, developmental, educational, social relational, pharmacological, psychological, and therapeutic.

Treatments can be recommended by the clinician or educational therapist. Time (hours) of treatment are based on the schedule provided by the therapist based on the individuals needs.