The Autism Spectrum

The term Autism derives from the Greek “Autos” that means Myself, Me; in a general sense, Autism is a condition that a person presents of being wrapped up in a very unusual way with him self.

It’s characterized by an abnormal development regarding the social interaction and communication, and by a very restrict repertory of interests and activities, being usually called as Premature Infant Autism or Kanner Autism.

These disabilities can also appear in a multiple non verbal behaviours, such as: Direct visual contact, Facial expressions, Postural and Physical gestures that regulate the social interaction and the communication.

What are the first’s signs of Autism?

The first symptom can be the resistance when the baby or the child is being cuddled, keeping her/himself indifferent to the parents or other people, never being able to establish friendly relationships.

Usually they avoid facing others in the eyes and prefer to play alone, looking careless towards surrounding people feelings and in social conventions. A main characteristic is the resistance to changes; the child reacts very strongly to all kind of changes, having severe mode changes to any kind of alteration in her/his routine or activities - An Autistic sticks to certain rituals, games or objects satisfying there needs ” that everything is always the same”.

There are some other kind of behaviour anomalies that can be noticed like; walking on the toes, play with their fingers for hours and hours, repeatedly moving their bodies backward and forward, start screaming with no apparent reason, heart them self and hyperactivity are the most significant for a diagnose.

When is the right age for a diagnose?

Autism is 4 to 5 times more frequently in the male gender, and usually it reveals until the child is 30 moths old, but it can become very evident in the first year,  due to the lack of interest and social interaction. However the diagnose is more clear after the child is two years old.

Can an Autistic Child learn how to speak?

The delay in acquiring language skills is very frequent. The child is unable to learn how to imitate language or gestures, reacting wrongly to the sounds. When a child obtains the ability of communication, the vocabulary is immature and non creative, but very common these children invent new words and repeat what they hear from others.

Is Asperger Syndrome and Autism the same?

Contrary to the Autism, in the Asperger Syndrome there aren’t any clinical compromises on the language level, cognitive development,  the abilities of self-help and is identified later than Autism. This syndrome is related to social interaction; were the subject interacts less with there peers and dedicate themselves more into activities of study and investigation.

Is there any possibility of a good diagnose?

Only 1/6 of the Autistic children can more or less have an independent life, meaning that most of them need special attention. However the language skills and high intellectual levels are factors of a good prognosis.