Why Early Diagnosis Of Autism Is Crucial

Recent studies and gathering of data by several professional institutions have revealed that autism affects an estimated 1 out of every 164 births in this country. That means that there are almost 1.5 million American children are afflicted with autism to some degree, where many of those are undiagnosed. For reasons as yet unknown, autism has an annual growth rate of more than 14%, which makes it one of the leading developmental disability afflictions in children today.

The instance of autism is not relegated to just children, nor does it seem to afflict any particular person based on race or social structure. It also does not appear to be a result of any injury or accident that may have involved trauma. One thing that is known, however, is that males are about 4 times more likely to have autism than females.

In order to properly understand autism, also known as autistic spectrum disorder or ASD, we need to first begin with a definition of what autism is, as well as what it is not. Autism is one of several cognitive disorders that have a detrimental effect on the developmental or learning ability of the afflicted individual. Autism can be detected as early as age 2 or 3 in most children, and is thought to be a neurological disorder that plays varying degrees of havoc with how the brain interprets different information. The most common signs seen are that autism causes difficulty with the childs communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal. In other words, from the non-verbal standpoint, the afflicted child typically has problems with social interactions with other children, their peers, and even their parents.

Since there are varying degrees of autism, it is critical that a child who is suspected of being afflicted with autism be diagnosed as early in life as possible. By doing this, the child can benefit from schools that specialize in children with special needs, which are becoming increasing prominent in almost all school districts. Professionals at these schools have been trained to understand autism and to take into account the specialized learning techniques that can reach these children.

There are many thoughts about autism and there are also many myths about it. One of those myths is that children who are autistic are dumb or have a low IQ. This is not true at all. In terms of academic intelligence, an autistic child can score at the same level as his classmates. Do you remember the movie titled Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman, where he was autistic? Although Dustin Hoffman did an excellent job in showing the lack of social interaction and many of the other signs of an autism patient, he was also absolutely brilliant with numbers and in the casino.

There are several characteristics that autistic people will display that can be a clue to the potential presence of autism. Unfortunately, there are no conclusive laboratory tests that can definitively state whether or not a person has autism, simply because it really is a neurological disorder. Such characteristics include, as discussed above, difficulty in verbal and non-verbal communication, distinct resistance to change in schedule or routine, an abnormally low threshold for pain, difficulty or discomfort in making eye contact, and a tendency to fixate on a particular object for very long periods of time.

Understanding the characteristics of autistic spectrum disorder or ASD so that it can be accurately diagnosed is the first step towards creating an effective course of action to working with that child during their developmental years.

Article Source: http://www.healthandwellnesscentral.com

Jon is a computer engineer who maintains web sites on a variety of topics based on his knowledge and experience. You can read more about Autism and Autistic Spectrum Disorder at his web site Autism Explained.

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