Autism is a syndrome that causes changes in the child's ability to communicate, social interaction and behavior, which causes signs and symptoms such as speech difficulties, blocks in expressing ideas and feelings, as well as unusual behaviors such as dislike of interacting, get agitated or repeat movements.
Signs of autism usually appear around 2 to 3 years of age, when the child has a greater interaction and communication with people and the environment. However, in some cases, it is already possible to observe some warning symptoms already in babies, such as the absence of facial expressions or absence of reaction to sounds, for example. To learn more about autism at this stage, check out signs of autism from 0 to 3 years old.
Symptoms of autism can also be noticed in teenagers and adults, and some of the most common are isolation, do not look in the eyes, aggression and difficulty adapting to a new routine. It is important to remember that only some of these signs do not confirm autism, being important the consultation with the pediatrician or psychiatrist, who can make a more specific clinical evaluation.
If you are suspicious of any cases of autism, check out our test, which can help identify the main signs and symptoms:
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Is Autism?
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How To Know if It Is Autism
In mild autism, the child has few symptoms, which can often go unrecognized. See details on how to identify mild autism.
In moderate and severe autism, the amount and intensity of symptoms become greater. Symptoms that can be presented by any autistic child include:
1. Difficulty in social interaction
- Do not look in the eyes or avoid looking in the eyes even when someone is talking to her, being very close;
- Inadequate laughter or giggling or out of hours, such as during a wake or a wedding ceremony or baptism, for example;
- Do not like affection or affection and so do not let yourself be hugged or kissed;
- Difficulty in relating with other children and why he prefers to be alone than to play with them;
- Always repeat the same things, always play with the same toys.
2. Difficulty of communication
- The child knows how to speak, but prefers not to say anything and keeps quiet for hours, even when asking questions for her;
- The child refers to itself with the word: you
- Repeat the question that has been asked to him several times in a row without caring if he is annoying others;
- He always keeps the same expression on his face and does not understand the gestures and facial expressions of others;
- Do not answer when called by name, as if you are not listening to anything, even though you are not deaf and have no auditory impairment;
- Look out of the corner of your eye when you feel uncomfortable;
- When he speaks the communication is monotonous and pedantic.
3. Behavioral changes
- Not afraid of dangerous situations such as crossing the street without looking at the cars, get very close to the seemingly dangerous animals such as large dogs;
- To have strange games, giving different functions to the toys that have;
- Play with only a part of a toy, such as the wheel of the cart, for example, and stand conspicuously looking and stirring at it;
- Apparently he does not feel pain and he seems to like to hurt himself or to hurt others on purpose;
- Take someone else's arm to get the object she wants;
- Always look in the same direction as if you were standing in time;
- Sway back and forth for several minutes or hours or twist your hands or fingers constantly;
- Difficulty adjusting to a new routine getting agitated, being able to self-injure or attack others;
- Staying hand in objects or having fixation by water;
- Get extremely agitated when in public or in noisy environments.
In the suspicion of these symptoms is indicated the evaluation by the pediatrician or child psychiatrist, who can make a more detailed evaluation of each case, and confirm if it is autism or if it can be some other illness or psychological condition:
Click here and know the differential diagnosis
When autism is suspected, it must also be verified if there are other conditions that are leading to the same signs and symptoms that the child presents, such as:
- Auditory impairment;
- Intellectual deficiency;
- Expressive and repetitive language disorder;
- Landau-Klefner Syndrome or Rett Syndrome;
- Severe separation anxiety;
- Selective multichannel.
Therefore it is important to observe if there are other signs and symptoms, as well as physical characteristics that may help in the diagnosis, and it is important to perform tests that can clarify doubts.
In addition, the autistic child may also have other disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Anxiety and Depression that can be treated with therapies and medications indicated by the doctor.
Symptoms of Autism in Adolescents and Adults
Symptoms of autism may be milder in adolescence and adulthood, either because the signs have gone undetected in childhood, or because of the improvement in the treatment. It is common for the young autistic to present signs such as:
- Absence of friends, and when there are friends, there is no regular or face-to-face contact. Generally, contact with people is limited to family circle, college, or virtual relationships over the internet;
- Avoid leaving home, both for usual activities, such as using transportation and public services, and for leisure activities, always preferring solitary and sedentary activities;
- Many can not have the autonomy to work and develop a profession;
- They usually have symptoms of depression and anxiety;
- Difficulty of social interaction, and interest only in specific activities.
The possibility of having a normal and autonomous adult life varies according to the severity of the symptoms and the accomplishment of an appropriate treatment. Family support is essential, especially in more severe cases where the autistic can depend on family and caregivers to meet their social and financial needs.
How to treat
The treatment of autism varies from child to child because not all are affected in the same way. In general it is necessary to have recourse to several health professionals as a physician, speech therapist, physiotherapist and psychopedagogist, being very important the family support so that the exercises are performed daily, thus improving the capacities of the child.
This treatment should be followed for a lifetime and should be reevaluated every 6 months so that it can be suitable for the needs of the family. To learn more about treatment options for autism, check out autism treatment.
