Top 10 Symptoms of Autism

Autism is highly heritable , but the cause includes both environmental factors and a genetic predisposition. In rare cases, Autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects. Controversies surrounding other proposed environmental causes; the hypothesis of harm caused by vaccines is biologically unlikely and has been refuted in scientific studies. Diagnostic criteria require symptoms to become apparent before the age of three years.

Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering the way nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize. how this occurs is still not well understood. It is one of three recognized Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), the other two being Asperger’s Syndrome with Absence of Delays in Cognitive Development and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS). English) or TID-NOS (acronym in Portuguese), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for Autism  or Asperger Syndrome are not met  .

Major Symptoms of Autism:  The early signs and symptoms of  Autism  vary widely. Some children with ASD have only mild symptoms and others have severe behavioral problems. However, all children with  Autism  experience problems with one or more of the following:

• Communication (verbal and non-verbal)
• social interaction
• repetitive behaviors

Babies are usually very interested in the world and the people around them. A child with ASD may not be interested or have difficulty interacting with the world around them. A child may have early symptoms of ASD if:

• Develop late language skills
• Don’t point at objects or people or say goodbye
• Don’t track people with your eyes
• Show a lack of responsiveness
• Do not imitate facial expressions
• Don’t take the hand to get caught
• Enter or close walls
• want to be alone
• Do not play fantasy games (e.g. feeding a doll)
• have obsessive interests
• cause harm to yourself
• is angry
• Display unusual reactions to the way things smell or taste

Symptoms of Autism Can Range from Moderate to Severe: Communication problems in Autism can include:

• Not being able to start or maintain a social conversation
• Communicate with gestures rather than words
• Develop language slowly or not at all
• Not adjusting vision to look at objects other people are looking at
• Not referring to oneself correctly (e.g. saying “ you want water ” when the child means “I want water”)
• Not pointing to draw people’s attention to objects (happens in the first 14 months of life)
• Repeat memorized words or phrases, such as commercials
• Use meaningless rhymes