Autism Symptoms and Treatments

You may not know when your child is born if they will grow well or develop maturely. Some children learn fast and some slower than others. I've heard complaints from other parents about how their child wasn't walking or talking when they should. These are all very legitimate concerns. I also am a parent and I can understand this fear. My daughter didn't start walking until 14 months so I was a little concerned. She eventually started walking though and everything turned out fine. There are no disabilities that I am aware of. I guess I am lucky in the area that nothing has ever been seriously wrong with my children. Others haven't been so lucky. Some parents have noticed that their child is slow in developing. Maybe not necessarily walking but in other areas. For example, My sister was worried about her son not talking and she had noticed other behaviors as well. Such as him spinning around in circles a lot and not really acting like other children would. She was really worried so she took him to the doctor for a checkup. The doctor explained that he may have autism.

Autism is a developmental disability that results from a disorder of the human central nervous system. The main signs and symptoms of autism involve communication, social interactions and repetitive behaviors. Autism can be diagnosed in a child as early as 1 year. Warning signs can include no joyful expressions such as laughing or smiling. The child may not do back and forth sounds or other facial expressions. Also no babbling by 12 months or no words by 16 months. Any loss of speech or babbling or social skills at any age is also a sign. Some children may flap their arms to tell you their happy or hurt themselves if they aren't. They may repeat sentences over and over again or have other behavior such as obsessively stacking blocks. If you feel your child has any of these symptoms and have an increased concern you should take them to a physician to be checked out. The cause of autism is not known but some believe it to be caused by genetic and environmental factors. Brain injury, cerebral changes, viral causes, vaccines, seizures, and developmental aphasia is considered to be symptoms that cause autism. There is no cure for autism but there are treatments that have believed to be helpful. Such treatments are biochemical, neurosensory, psycho-dynamic, and behavioral therapy. If you feel your child has any of these symptoms and have an increased concern you should take them to a physician to be checked out.