Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder: Among all psychological disorders Autism spectrum disorder is most difficult to understand as it is a puzzling disorder. This psychological disorder is considered neuro-developmental, that is, it is something that is apparent from childhood and continues throughout the person’s life, it impacts on intellectual, emotional, social, physical or motor skills. Usually we say autism is present when we see certain patterns of behaviour. But we shouldn’t say that every person with autism is the same.

Children with this psychological disorder show signs of significant disturbances in three main areas: (a) deficits in social interaction, (b) deficits in communication, and (c) repetitive patterns of behavior or interests. 

Deficit in social interaction:  The child with this psychological disorder might exhibit deficit in social interaction by not initiating conversations with other children or turning their head away when spoken to. The child does not make eye contact with others and  he prefer to playing alone rather than with others. In some circumstances, it is almost as though these children with this psychological disorder live in a personal and isolated social world others are simply not privy to or able to penetrate. 

Communication deficits in this psychological disorder can vary from a complete lack of speech, to one word responses (e.g., saying “Yes” or “No” when replying to questions or statements that require additional elaboration), to echoed speech (e.g., parroting what another person says, either immediately or several hours or even days later), to maintaining a conversation is difficult for them because of an inability to reciprocate others’ comments. 

Repetitive patterns of behavior or interests can be shown in a number of ways in this psychological disorder. The child might remained in stereotyped, repetitive movements (rocking, head-banging, or repeatedly dropping an object and then picking it up), or he might show more distress at small changes in routine or the environment.

Approximately in the United States one child among 88 children  has autism spectrum disorder; the autism spectrum disorder is 5 times more frequently occurred in the boys (1 out of 54) as compared to the girls (1 out of 252).

DSM 5 Diagnostic Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders:

A. constant deficits in social interaction as well as social communication in more than one contexts, as described in the following, by history or currently (examples are illustrative,

not exhaustive; see text):

1. In  emotional and social reciprocity there are varying degrees of deficits like,  failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions and abnormal social approach

2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in the use and understanding of signals: to a whole deficit  of nonverbal communication and facial expressions.

3. Deficits in understanding, developing and maintaining,  relationships, varying like, from trouble  in correct behavior to ensemble a range of social contexts; to problem in sharing imaginative play or in creating friendships; to deficiency of interest in peers.

B. Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):

1. Repetitive and stereotyped motor activities, utilization of objects, or speech (for example easy motor stereotypies, flipping objects, echolalia, lining up toys or idiosyncratic phrases).

2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, generally walked through the same route and eat same diet every day.

3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g.,

Extreme preoccupation and attachment to or  with uncommon objects, persistently perseverative or circumscribed interests).

4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or  visual preoccupation with  movement or lights) or touching the objects.

Specify current severity:

Level of severity is depends upon  social communication impairments and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior (see Table 2).

C. In the early developmental period symptoms should be present (however they are not happen to completely apparent until social demands surpass partial capacities, or can be covered by academic strategies in later life).

D. Symptoms may create clinically considerable impairment in occupational, social or other significant areas of present functioning.

E. These symptoms are not completely enlighten by global developmental delay or intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder). Autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability regularly co-occur and construct co morbid diagnoses of intellectual disability autism spectrum disorder, social communication must be lower that predictable for common developmental level.

Diagnosis:

The essential features of autism spectrum disorder are persistent impairment in reciprocal social communication and social interaction (Criterion A), and restricted, repetitive pat￾terns of behavior, interests, or activities (Criterion B). The symptoms are usually present in the early childhood and impair daily functions (Criteria C and D). Basic diagnostic features are present during the  period of development however compensation, current supports and intervention  can mask difficulties in at many contexts. 

Treatment: Medication used for Autism spectrum disorder are SSRIs.

Psychotherapies for this psychological disorder including educational therapies, behaviour therapy, social skills training,

Specialized therapies and physical therapy.