Austism is a complex group of disorders that limit brain development. A person suffering from it has social impairments, communication difficulties and restricted/repetitive patterns of behavior. Children that suffer from this disorder won’t respond to their name and will avoid eye contact with others. They don’t understand normal social cues and lack empathy. They can’t interpret voice or facial impressions to know what behavior is appropriate for the situation.
High Functioning Autism
One form of autism is high functioning autism (HFA) which has less severe signs and symptoms. A person with HFA can have average or above average intelligence. Children with HFA have language delays early on but then persevere though them. HFA people do what to be involved with people unlike the other categories of autism They just lack the social skills to effectively engage with others. Children with HFA run a higher risk for developing anxiety.
Aspergers
Aspergers is another type of autism disorder. Children that suffer from this lack the social skills and have difficulty in reading nonverbal communication. They have repetitive patterns of behavior as well. People with Aspergers are high functional and exhibit a high form of intelligence just like their HFA counterparts. However, unlike HFA people, they don’t have any early language delays.They tend to conduct themselves in a formal and sophisticated way.
Common Indicators
Children with autism engage in repetitive motions like rocking back and forth. They can engage in abusive self talk that can lead to head banging or biting. Children suffering from it can also have other conditions such as Tourettes, Epilepsy and ADD. 20 percent to 30 percent of children with autism will have epilepsy by the time they are adults. Autism is thought to be caused by either genetics, a medical issue or environmental factors. It is more common in boys than in girls.
There are early indications that can be found with evaluation. These indicators are no babbling or pointing by the time the child is age one and demonstrates no response when their name is called, a loss of language or social skills, poor eye contact, excessive lining up of toys and other objects, and no smiling or other social responses.
Both conditions allow for full functionality in society. There are treatments that try to teach social skills. There is no specific medicine that treats autistic disorders.