Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is not a single neurological condition. It’s a group of complex neurodevelopmental disorders, mainly characterized by communication difficulties, social impairments, and repetitive, restricted, and stereotyped patterns of behaviour. Autism is a more severe form of ASD. Other less severe forms are childhood disintegrative disorder, Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Males are four times more prone to develop ASD than females. One should look for the best autism treatment in Gurgaon to get this disorder treated.
What are the different types of autism?
Before 2013 until DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) was released, there used to be sub divisions of autism like high functioning autism Asperger syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD), Pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Now everything comes under single umbrella of Autistic spectrum Disorder.
What are some Common Signs of Autism?
Impaired social interaction is the hall feature of ASD. It develops from infancy. You can diagnose the problem by observing the signs and symptoms such as
If a baby is unresponsive to peoples.
Infections in mother that can affect the baby in the wombIf a baby is focusing intently on one item to the exclusion of others for long periods of time
A child with Autism spectrum disorder may appear to develop normally and then withdraw and become indifferent to social engagement. Children suffering from autism may often avoid eye contact with other people and often fail to respond to their names. They always face difficulty interpreting about others thinking and feeling because they can’t understand social cues such as facial expressions and tone of voice. They also don’t watch other peoples faces thus fails to collect the clues about appropriate behaviour. They lack empathy. Most of the children with autism engage in repetitive actions such as twirling, rocking, or in self-abusive behaviours such as head-banging or biting. As compared to other children they tend to start speaking later and may refer to themselves by name instead of “I” or “me.” These children don’t know how to play interactively with other children. Some of the children with autism speak in a sing-song voice about a narrow range of favourite topics. They rarely show interest on the person to whom they are speaking with. A child with the above symptoms needs the best autism treatment in Gurgaon. Children with characteristics of an Autism Spectrum Disorder may have co-occurring conditions, including tuberous sclerosis, Fragile X syndrome (which causes mental retardation), epileptic seizures, learning disabilities, Tourette syndrome and attention deficit disorder. About 20 to 30 % of children with this disorder develop epilepsy by the time they reach adulthood.
How is Autism Diagnosed?
Early indicators that require an expert evaluation include:
No pointing or babbling by age 1.
No words (even a single) by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2.
Loss of language or social skills
No response to name
Poor eye contact.
no smiling or social responsiveness.
Later indicators include
Excessive lining up of toys or objects
Unable to make friends.
Unable to initiate or sustain a normal conversation with others.
Impairment of imaginative and social play
Repetitive use of a sentence or words.
Restricted patterns of interest.
Inflexible adherence to specific routine or ritual.
Early diagnosis and the specific treatment plan both are the key features of the best autism treatment in Gurgaon.
Why does autism happen?
There is no specific cause to autism. However, it’s a multifactorial disorder contributed by genetic as well as environmental factors. In the last one-decade, many genes responsible for autism have been identified. Some of these genes are jointly responsible for autism and some other disease e.g. tuberous sclerosis gene can cause epilepsy and autism together and severity of one of them can worsen the outcome. Other genetic disorders like Rett syndrome, Angelman syndrome could also exhibit autism like features in addition to other symptoms of the given syndrome. In addition to these lots of environmental factors like malnutrition, prematurity, brain malformation during pregnancy, etc. Modern life style like nuclear families, less human interaction and more usage gadgets like smart phones, computers, etc. could be contributory. However, no absolute cause has been identified. In nutshell, I would say its genetic predisposition of a child towards autism with additional contribution by environmental factors.
What Role Does Inheritance Play?
Twin and family studies strongly suggest that some people have a genetic predisposition to autism. Identical twin studies show that if one twin is affected, there is up to a 90 percent chance the other twin will be affected. There are a number of studies in progress to determine the specific genetic factors associated with the development of ASD. In families with one child with ASD, the risk of having a second child with the disorder is approximately 5 percent, or one in 20. This is greater than the risk for the general population. Researchers are looking for clues about which genes contribute to this increased susceptibility. In some cases, parents and other relatives of a child with ASD show mild impairments in social and communicative skills or engage in repetitive behaviors.
Do Symtoms Of Autism Change Over Time?
For many children, symptoms improve with treatment and with age. Children whose language skills regress early in life—before the age of 3—appear to have a higher than normal risk of developing epilepsy or seizure-like brain activity. During adolescence, some children with an ASD may become depressed or experience behavioral problems, and their treatment may need some modification as they transition to adulthood. People with an ASD usually continue to need services and supports as they get older, but many are able to work successfully and live independently or within a supportive environment.
How Is Autism Treated?
There is no specific cure for ASDs. Some therapies and behavioural interventions are specifically designed to reduce the symptoms and can bring about substantial improvement. The ideal treatment plan includes therapies and interventions that meet the particular needs of individual children with autism. Most health care professionals agree that early diagnosis and interventions can contribute to improved behavioural symptoms. To get the best treatment meet the best child neurologist in Gurgaon in the name of Dr. Rakesh Jain.
Medications: Medications are also prescribed by doctors for the treatment of specific autism-related symptoms, such as depression, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Some behavioural problems are treated by antipsychotic medications. Anticonvulsant drugs are used to treat Seizures. Impulsivity and hyperactivity is usually decreased by the medications which are mainly used to treat the peoples with attention deficit disorder
Other therapies: Other therapies are also available that parents should opt only by consulting a health care professional. Parents can also go for the dietary intervention with carefully followed child’s nutritional status.
You can find the best child neurologist in Gurgaon at child neurology centre located in Gurgaon.