AUTISM

Autism is a developmental disorder its trouble with social interaction, communication and by restricted & repetitive behaviour.

It’s usually notice signs in the first two to three year.

some children with autism reach their milestone at a normal pace & then worsen.

Early speech and behaviour intervention can help child with autism to gain self care, social skill, and communication skill.

CAUSE

  • Combination of genetic and environmental factor
  • Autism has a strong genetic basis
  • complexity arise to interactions among multiple gens
  • also cause of autism is synaptic dysfunction

In environmental factor

  • Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy ex. havy metals and particulates increase risk of autism
  • Certain food
  • infectious disease
  • solvents
  • phthalates and phenols use in plastic products
  • pesticides
  • brominated flame retardant
  • alcohol
  • smoking
  • illicit drugs
  • vaccines
  • prenatal stress

CHARACTERISTICS

Symptoms :- Impairment in social interaction

– Impairment in communication

– Restricted interests

– Repetitive behaviour

 1. Social development 

  • Autistic infants shows less attention to social stimuli, smile, and look at other, less often respond, less to their own name
  • They have less eye contact, turn taking and do not have the ability to used simple movement express themselves such as pointing at thing
  • three to five year old child are less likely exhibit
    • social understanding
    • approach other spontaneously
    • imitate and respond to emotions
    • communicate non verbally &
    • take turn with other
  • Older children and adult with ASD perform worse on tests of face and emotion recognition
  • Making and maintaining friendship, often prove to be difficult for those.

2. Communication

  • Differences in communication may be present from the 1st year of life
    • include delayed onset of babbling
    • unusual gestures
    • diminish responsiveness
    • vocal pattern
  •  That not synchronised with the caregivers
  • They are less likely to make request or share experience and are more likely to simply repeat others word or reverse pronounce.
  •  Child with autism may have difficulty with imaginative play and with developing symbols in to language.

3. Repetitive behaviour 

  • Stereotype behaviour : repetitive movement such as hand flapping, head rolling and body rocking
  • Compulsive behaviour : such as placing objects in a specific order checking thing and hand washing
  • Sameness : resistance to change
  • Ritualistic object : unvarying pattern such as unchanging menu, or a dressing ritul.
  • Restricted interest : less interest in any television program, toy or game, less intensity of focus
  •  Self injury : behaviours such as eye pocking, skin picking, hand bitting, and head banding.

Other symptoms

  • Sensory abnormality are found in over 90% of those with autism and are considered core feature
  • An estimated 60-70% of autistic people have motor signs that include poor muscle, tone poor motor planning, and toe walking.

DIAGNOSIS 

  • It’s based on behaviour
  • Simple symptoms include lack of social, emotional, reciprocity, stereotyped, repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language preoccupation with unusual object.

Diagnostic instrument

  1. Autism diagnostic interview revised ( ADI-R)
  2. Autism diagnostic observation schedule ( ADOS)
  3. Childhood autism rating scale ( ARS )

Differential diagnosis for ASD

  • Intellectual disability
  • Hearing impairment
  • Specific language impairment such as landau-kleffner syndrome

MANAGEMENT

  • The main goal when treating children with autism are to lessen associated deficits and family distress, increase quality of life, and functional independent.
  • Family and the educational system are the main resources of treatment.
  • Intensive sustained special education programs and behaviour therapy early in life can help children acquire self care, social and job skill, often improve functioning, decrease symptom severity and maladaptive behaviour.
  • Available approach include applied behaviour analysis, developmental models, structure teaching, speech & language therapy and occupation therapy.
  • Teach parent how to implement various ABA & DSP treatment.

Education

  • Intensive ABA treatment has effectiveness in enhancing globe functioning in preschool children and well established for improving intellectual performance of young children.

Medication 

  • Psychoactive drug or anticonvulson

Alternative medicine

  • Music therapy  may improve social interaction, verbal communication and non verbal communication.
  • Promotion emotional responses and self expression music give children with autism the chance to move, dance, sing, make noise as method of expressing emotion stimulates cognitive function.
  • It also promotes learning, relaxation, self expression and relatedness while simultaneously addressing multiple developmental issues.