Autistic spectrum disorder is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication, and social interaction across multiple contexts, restricted repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities, symptoms must be present in the first two years of a child’s life, symptoms cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.

Signs & Symptoms vary from one child to the other, but in general they fall into two areas.

Social impairment, including difficulties with social communication

• Make little eye contact
• Tend to look and listen less to people in their environment or fail to respond to other people
• Rarely seek to share their enjoyment of toys or activities by pointing or showing things to others
• Respond unusually when others show anger, distress or affection
• Fail to respond to their name, slow to develop gestures
• Coo and babble in the first year of life

Repetitive and stereo-typed behaviours

• Children with ASD often have repetitive motions or unusual behaviours
• They tend to have overly focused interests
• Do best with routine in their daily activities and surroundings

Some of the other conditions that children with ASD may have:

• Sensory problems
• Sleep problems
• Intellectual disability
• Seizures
• Fragile X syndrome
• Tuberous sclerosis
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Co-occurring mental disorders

Treatment – while there is no proven cure yet for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), treating ASD early, using school-based programs, and getting proper medical care can generally reduce ASD symptoms and increase the child’s ability to grow and learn new skills.
Talk to our psychiatrists at Cadabam’s Hospitals to find out how your child can get the best treatment plan and the best suited plan.