Autism - Signs, Symptoms, Treatments, Resources, Support for Autism

Occupational therapists study human growth and development and a person’s interaction with the environment through daily activities. They are experts in the social, emotional, and physiological effects of illness and injury. This knowledge helps them promote skills for independent living in people with autism and other developmental disorders. Occupational therapists work as part of a team that includes parents, teachers, and other professionals. They help set specific goals for the person with autism. These goals often involve social interaction, behavior, and classroom performance. Occupational therapists can help in two main ways: evaluation and therapy. How is occupational therapy useful for evaluation of autism? The therapist observes children to see if they can do tasks they are expected to do at their ages -- getting dressed or playing a game, for example. Sometimes, the therapist will have the child videotaped during the day in order to see how the child intera...

Autism is a spectrum of closely related disorders with a shared core of symptoms. Autism spectrum disorders appear in infancy and early childhood, causing delays in many basic areas of development such as learning to talk, play, and interact with others. The signs and symptoms of autism vary widely, as do its effects. Some autistic children have only mild impairments, while others have more obstacles to overcome. However, every child on the autism spectrum has problems, at least to some degree, in the following three areas: Communicating verbally and non-verbally Relating to others and the world around them Thinking and behaving flexibly There are different opinions among doctors, parents, and experts about what causes autism and how best to treat it, and much that we still don’t know. But on one fact, everyone agrees: early and intensive intervention helps. For children at risk and children who show early signs, it can make all the difference. As a...

Affecting three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play, Autism is a brain disorder that begins in early childhood and persists throughout adulthood. The specific cause or origin of autism is not known, however, many researchers suspect that autism results from genetically mediated vulnerabilities to environmental triggers. Some professionals estimate that 1 out of every 166 children in America are affected by autism on one level or another. The national health institute has a more conservative number of 1 in every 1000; either way autism is prevalent! A family that has born one autistic child has odds of 1 in 20 of another, which leads to heridatary assumptions. There is a set list of psychiatric criteria and a series of standardized clinical tests that are used to diagnose autism. Although not always physiologically obvious, a complete physical and neurological evaluation will typically be ableo to determine whether an individ...