understanding Autism (BIG version)

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the brain’s normal development of social and communication skills. It usually appears within the first three years of a child’s life. It is part of a group of disorders called autism spectrum disorders (ASD) categorizing the different degrees of severity.

Mental retardation as well as seizures are common among those children on the spectrum. 1 in 10 autistic people have savant skills. Savant behavior has been linked with right-brain trauma and over compensation of the left brain thus the memorization skills and lack of social skills. Studies have shown that the left brain matures later than the right brain, and male brains mature later than female brains. There seems to be a link with that study and the thought that trauma at birth especially to the baby's brain would be linked to ASD.

1 in 110 children (one in 97 boys) are diagnosed with an ASD in the US. Here in Georgia that number is higher. Every 20 minutes a child is diagnosed. Lets hope most of those are under the age of 5.

Early intervention is critical to a child’s progress. It can mean the difference of getting your child in kindergarten with the rest of his/her peers or not. A child can be diagnosed, as early as 18 months and as stated, this is critical.

Watch your children’s behavior. REALLY watch them for an hour. Set the timer if you have to. What do you see? Here are some behaviors to watch for. No eye contact, repetitive behavior, lining up toys, not playing with toys in the way they should be used, walking or running in circles, flapping of hands, lack of speech if any, echolalia (when the child mimics words), lastly and most importantly, does your child interact with you? Does your child need something from you every 5-10 minutes? Most children do.

If you see any of these signs, bring your child to a behavioral specialist; they are the ones that will help you. Most pediatricians do NOT specialize in this area. That is like going to your routine physician to deliver your baby, would you do that?