Autism
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Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction,
impaired verbal and non-verbal communication, and
restricted and repetitive behavior.
What Is Autism?
Autism makes it difficult for children to processing information due to the way their brains develop. These developmental difficulties may show themselves as trouble communicating with others (language delay), perform certain unusual or repetitive behaviors, and some may have learning difficulties in school.
No two cases of autism are exactly alike — depending on a child’s condition, symptoms can be severe and interfere with everyday tasks or they can be mild and cause few problems. This range of symptoms is called a “spectrum.”
With early treatment that usually includes speech therapy, occupational therapy, and behavioral therapy, kids with autism can have the opportunity to reach their best potential. Intensive therapy models such as ABA (applied behaviour analysis) are also appropriate for moderate to severe autism.
What Are the Signs of Autism?
Signs of autism are usually recognizable by 2 or 3 years of age.
Signs of autism can include:
- trouble interacting, playing with, or relating to others
- having little or brief eye contact with others
- not pointing to objects to call attention to them
- unusual or repetitive movements, such as hand flapping, spinning, or tapping
- delays in developmental milestones or loss of milestones already achieved
- playing with a toy in a way that seems odd or repetitive
- not using or understanding language as a child that age typically would
- not exploring surroundings with curiosity or interest (a child seeming to be in his or her “own world”)
Kids who show a pattern of these behaviours should be evaluated by a peadiatrician followed by a formal multi-disciplinary assessment.
Do we assess for Autism
Yes. Our team assesses children for Autism using formal assessments, clinical interviews, gathering information from childcare school, working a Paediatrician and other medical professionals.
Click here for more information on assessments offered by Change for Life