Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Autism Diagnosis

by: Dean Novosat

Autism diagnosis is much more complicated than Down syndrome as there is no blood test, genetic marker, facial features, or other characteristics that apply to all autistic persons. The diagnosis is subjective, depending on meeting observations of certain behaviors. Autism diagnosis is based on behavior. Children can be diagnosed with autism as early as 12 months of age, although some children will not show signs of autism until about 18 months. Signs of autism that would necessitate an evaluation include a lack of babbling or hand gestures by the time a child is 12 months old, the absence of a child using single words by 16 months, and the lack of usage of two words or phrases by the time a child is 24 months old.

A 2002-2003 survey found that although 90 percent of U.S. children and adults with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. They find it hard to communicate with others and relate to the outside world. However, children develop at different rates and it is wrong to overly concern yourself with the fact that they cannot do a certain thing when one child down the street seems very capable at doing something and you child is not. Do not assume that your child is autistic! They just may be developing more slowly than their peers. This is why doctors use a standard autism checklist before suspecting autism in a child.

Children on the higher level of the autism spectrum may go years without being diagnosed. There are may factors that go into an Autism diagnosis and there are different degrees of autism. Children in with certain behaviors like temper tantrums and refusal to communicate don't mean they're autistic. Some children fail to meet criteria for autism; they just don’t have adequate social skills and typically have a developmental disability, and their symptoms can by accounted for by that.

Parents of children with autism are coping with a considerable amount of stress and an overwhelming amount of information about the disability. Families of children with autism can benefit from support from professionals, other family members, and society, in order to manage the stress effectively. There are support groups available for parents of children with autism.

About the Author
Dean Novosat writes about health issues at http://www.autismaspergerreport.com Autism And Asperger Syndrome

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