Autism is a developmental disability. Children with autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder or ASD, have social, communication and language problems. They also have restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, such as flipping objects, echolalia, or excessive smelling or touching of objects. Autism may be mild or severe. All children with autism don't have the exact same problems. Children with autism may have the following social and communication skills and common behaviors:
Social Skills
Your child may have problems using social skills to connect with other people. He may seem to be in his own world. It may be hard for him to
share a common focus with another person about the same object or event-known as joint attention; play with others and share toys; understand feelings; make and keep friends.
Communication Skills
Your child may have trouble with communication skills like understanding, talking with others, reading or writing. Sometimes, she might lose words or other skills that she's used before. Your child may have problems
understanding and using gestures, like pointing, waving, or showing objects to others; following directions; understanding and using words; having conversations; learning to read or write. Or she may read early but without understanding the meaning—called hyperlexia.
Your child also may
repeat words just heard or words heard days or weeks earlier-called echolalia (pronounced ek-o-lay-le-a); talk with little expression or use a sing-song voice; use tantrums to tell you what he does or does not want.
Common Behaviors
A child with autism may
have trouble changing from one activity to the next; flap hands, rock, spin or stare; get upset by certain sounds; like only a few foods; have limited and unusual interests-for example, talk about only one topic or keep staring at one toy.
How is autism diagnosed?
It is important to have your child evaluated by professionals who know about autism. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs), typically as part of a team, may diagnose autism. The team might include pediatricians, neurologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and developmental specialists, among others. SLPs play a key role because problems with social skills and communication are often the first symptoms of autism. SLPs should be consulted early in the evaluation process. There are a number of tests and observational checklists available to evaluate children with developmental problems. The most important information, however, comes from parents and caregivers who know the child best and can tell the SLP and others all about the child's behavior.
Source: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/Autism/
