Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that starts early in childhood and affects how the brain grows and functions. It’s also highly genetic and not caused by vaccines, your parenting style, or other persistent rumors. If you suspect your child is autistic, forget the rumors; here’s what you need to know.
ASD is not ADHD
Some other examples of neurodevelopmental disorders are ADHD, Intellectual Developmental Disorder, and Learning Disorders. While it’s common for your child to have more than one disorder, this isn’t always the case. Although there’s a particularly high prevalence of kids with ASD who also have ADHD, the reverse isn’t as common.
ASD can be grouped into two major categories. The first involves problems with social communication and relating with others. The other involves restricted, repetitive behavior patterns, interests, or activities. The latter is related to being either hyper- or hypo-reactive to sensory experiences.
If your child has ASD, ensure they’re always accompanied by an adult in places like the mall or on the roads. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) estimates that there are almost 50,000 highway accident fatalities in the U.S. annually. Cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians are the most common parties involved in these accidents. If your child has ASD, take extra care of them on the streets.
Symptoms of ASD
ASD symptoms range from language difficulties, where a child exhibits difficulty in social communication skills such as body language, eye contact, or pretending to play with toys. Then there’s social awareness, which is the ability to read the room, pick up and follow social norms like saying hello to someone who walks up to you. The other is having narrow interests, which is the tendency to narrowly and intensely focus on a niche area and having trouble shifting tasks or activities.
ASD may also affect information processing, which is learning and applying new information to different situations. Sensory processing is a child’s response to sensory input, like sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. Some kids with ASD can be hyper- or hypo-reactive. Repetitive behavior manifests in stemming in response to different emotions.
Stemming refers to self-stimulation behaviors like hand flapping, rocking, or blinking. The last symptom is the neuro-motor, or the ability to control movements. In a child with ASD, this can range from clumsiness to having little control over intentional movements, including bowel and bladder control past the diaper age.
Your child can have a range of different functions in all of these categories such that some may not be as pervasive as others. Hence, in each of these areas, if your child has ASD, they’ll have something going on that’s divergent from what’s considered standard, which is why every autistic child is unique.
Your Child is Among Many With ASD
ASD affects one out of 36 children, according to the CDC. Without obvious problematic behaviors, ASD can go undetected or undiagnosed until adulthood, meaning there are more people with ASD than the official statistics indicate. Diagnosing ASD is a challenge due to its variability in presentation, and doctors don’t always notice the subtle signs.
Besides, standard medicine focuses more on pathology than wellness. Another way ASD can go unaddressed is if your child has one of the common comorbid disorders that may accompany ASD. These include social anxiety, depression, OCD, or complex trauma. Chances are your child’s doctor will treat those problems without bothering to screen for ASD.
If your parental gut tells you something might be wrong with your child, see a professional, preferably a child psychologist or a psychiatrist with experience diagnosing and treating ASD. Describe all the behaviors you’re observing in your child that could indicate ASD. If the doctor still doesn’t think your child has ASD, explain the discrepancy between your suspicions and their clinical evaluation.
At first, it’s disheartening to hear the news that your child has autism. However, the best approach after hearing this news is to accept and start them on appropriate therapy. Seek to open up your child’s world rather than closing it down. Just as car.com recommends an oil change every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, don’t let the news that your child is autistic wear you out. Keep looking for treatment options to keep your child improving and performing optimally.
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