3 Typical Symptoms of Autism
April 12th, 2012There’s no question that a clear trend exists for the rise in diagnosed autism in children, and that’s why parents should take the time to learn more about the symptoms. As with many diseases, early diagnosis holds the most fruitful possibilities regarding treatment regimens, and hence the value of recognizing symptoms and seeking a professional assessment. While autism cannot usually be cured, many of it’s symptoms can be managed. Today’s article is on the more typically seen symptoms of autism that all parents of children should know.
Facial expressions that are not normal; walking and movements that are not normal and basically unusual in nature are all commonly seen in autistic children. The manner of response is not normal or what would usually be expected. Unfortunately, the child with autism doesn’t seem to want to smile much, and there are other absences of expressing emotions. There are some who tend to think autistic children do not have any emotions, however that is not accurate. They do not, however, express their emotions the way others do, and you cannot necessarily tell what an autistic person is feeling by watching his or her face or body language. Autistic people also often have ways of moving that appear strange to others, and may make repeated motions that have no apparent cause. Light, sound, and other sensory input sensitivity are also seen in many autistic children. What happens is the child can easily be frightened by sensory inputs such as the lights, sounds, or even the way something feels or tastes. Many scientists believe this is due to certain differences in the way autistic people’s brains work. But it’s known that some who do not have autism do have similar kinds of sensory issues. Higher functioning autistics, such as those with Asperger’s Syndrome, can function in the world, and they still have this hyper-sensitivity to lights, sounds, etc. In general, the best way to deal with this is to try to reduce any upsetting stimuli in the environment of autistic people.
Perhaps we’ve all seen examples of autistic children and adults who have amazing gifts and talents far beyond the norm. Such people are called autistic savants. The range of talents can include musical ability, mathematical prowess, or highly skilled in painting.
Many years ago these people were called, idiot savants, because they had that talent but were considered to be possibly retarded, etc. What is known, now, is they do not see the world as others do, and yet they are just as intelligent as the rest of us. Mental retardation does occur in autistic children/adults, too, though. But what fascinates people about the autistic savant is their particular ability does seem to be inborn, or pre-existing. There is a wide range of symptoms of autism seen in children and adults. The complete range of symptoms do not always include the more common ones, so it’s not recommended to generalize or think stereotypically about this disease. Likewise, the treatments vary a great deal based on how severe the condition is. There is still quite a bit of disagreement about what causes autism and the best way to treat it.