Overview and facts

Autism or Classical Autism belongs to Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs); a group of developmental disorders. ASDs include Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). The children suffering from Autism will start showing their signs and symptoms as early as two years of age. An autism child shows typical signs of lack of communication and language skills with repetitive and restricted pattern behavior. Autism is a very common condition that affects many parts of the brain. The exact reason is still unknown.

• People suffering from Autism are different from one another. They can be talkative or silent, cheerful or depressed. No two Autism patients are exactly alike; like other normal beings are different.
• Boys are four times more likely to suffer from Autism than girls.
• There are many treatment options available but no cure is there!!
•  Autism is a lifelong diagnosed condition. You cannot get rid of it!!

Symptoms

Autism is a very broad spectrum condition. No two patients of Autism are alike. There is no marked boundary of Autism; therefore there are no exact signs and symptoms. Yet there are some common ones, which make them the possible list of symptoms; including:

• Unusual and delayed speech patterns
• Speech tone varies from that of a normal person. Monotonic speech either high pitched and shrill or flat tone. 
• No expressions are there in the speech like normal kids have
• Shy children with lack of confidence and eye contact ability
• Hardly understands someone else’s perspective
• Most of the Autism patients are hyper or hypoactive towards light, crowd, noise, TV, and external stimuli.
• Gross motor disability causing poor psychomotor skills which leads to bad sports skills, bad handwriting patterns, and body movement coordination.
• Prefers activities that involve less communication, less people, less talking and fewer movements. 
• Autism patient are not very social. Have either one or two friends in all.

Causes

Though the exact cause of Autism is still unknown; but there are many factors that could have possibly played a role in developing Autism. These comprises of:

• Genetic factors.
• Certain food allergies and or allergies to environmental toxins.
• Possible teratogenic effects. 
• Chromosomal mutations.

Risk factors

Boys belonging to families with Autism history are at the major risk of getting Autism.

Diagnosis

Autism is a complex disorder and cannot be diagnosed by the opinion of a single doctor. It is a combined diagnosed result of a physician, a speech therapist, a psychiatrist and a neurosurgeon. However there are certain parameters and signs that all of these follows. The presence of following patterns is highly indicative of Autism, these are:

• Impaired capability to be friends
• Impaired ability to instigate or prolong a dialogue with others
• Deficiency or impairment of imaginative and social play
• Stereotyped, repetitive, or unusual use of language
• Restricted patterns of interest that are abnormal in intensity or focus
• Preoccupation with certain objects or subjects
• Inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals

Tests

• DSM-IV-TR has stated a long list of qualitative symptoms which could possibly be present in the child. Exhibiting at least six symptoms in total gives an affirmation to Autism diagnosis.
• Clinical genetics can prove helpful to check and match with any other family member with Autism. Chromosomal mutation can also be ruled out by this.
• Metabolic and neuroimaging tests are at times helpful, but they are not a part of standard routine measures.

Treatment & care

Autism is one such complicated condition that withholds many treatments options but without a certain cure from the condition. Some of the treatment options are designed to help the symptoms while other may be helpful in better communication and skills. Yet there are some treatment options that deal Autism as whole. The possible treatment options are as follows:

Treatments that are done to improve the symptoms: There are many different theories that are developed on various core deficits of Autism and its causes. As there are no known causes and dozens of possible symptoms it is very hard to determine which therapy works at its best and which one fails. Some night work for few while for others they might completely fail. A few preferred therapies are listed below:

• Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy
• Developmental Therapies  
• Improving Social Thinking  
• Therapies based on Gluten Free Cassein Free (GFCF) Diets  
• Biomedical therapies with various perspectives
• Sensory Integration Therapy 
• Speech therapy

Traditional Autism treatment options: The traditional Autism treatment options provide us with many therapies that are available. This treatment option is widely used as it ensure to cover all aspects of Autism treatment; not just dealing symptoms. The few famous therapies that are mostly preferred ones are:

• Behavioral therapy
• Educational therapy
• Play Therapy  
• Physical Therapy  
• Occupational Therapy 
• Speech-Language Therapy 

Alternative Treatments for Autism: With every passing day more and more research is being done on the treatment options of Autism. In the field of Alternative medicine there has also been marked progression. Different types of alternative treatments are available; each with a promise of better tomorrow. For some patients it really has worked. To name a few alternative therapies we have a list below:

• Auditory Integration Training for Autism
• Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Autism
• Rapid Prompting Method for Treating Autism 
• Defeat Autism Now (DAN!) Doctor
• Placebo Effect theory

Complications
Autism has also been linked with several other health conditions as complications of Autism. These health conditions/diseases are:

• Mental retardation
• Anxiety disorders
• Minor physical anomalies
• Epilepsy and seizures
• Metabolic disorders