What Is PDD Autism?

                

 

For a long time, many children with PDD (pervasive development disorders) went undiagnosed. These children were, for a time, labeled as shy, strange, or weird, when if fact they were suffering from a medical condition. PDD autism is something that has both new and old form, and some of the higher functioning children were the ones that were largely misunderstood. Thanks to new research and new information, some of these children can now go on to lead what would appear to be a ?normal? life.

The word normal is subjective, as what is normal for one child is not for another. Some with higher functioning PDD can often blend in with what is considered ?normal,? but at the same time, they believe that they are who they are because of their autism, and there are some who say they would not change that.

However, because they want to interact with those who do not have PDD, they do have to adjust. If PDD is identified early enough, there are many positive programs that can help these children to overcome some communication and socialization problems that are common with these autistic conditions.

The common characteristics of a child with PDD center around communication problems. These range in severity from not talking at all to having an extensive vocabulary. Some autistic children never speak, and prefer to use hand motions for communication. Others have problems with basic communication, but they can learn to use words to talk to the rest of the world. Those with large vocabularies may have problems because they often say the wrong things, and at times will take every word at the most literal sense, which can lead to confusion and problems with conversations.

Others PDD characteristics are to do with social settings. They want to interact with their peers, but they have many problems doing so. They are often thought to be painfully shy at first. They lack the skills to build the relationships that many of us take for granted. Some of this comes from communication barriers, and also from a lack of understanding.

They lack the ability to get and hold eye contact, and often say the wrong things. This can be very painful for them, and after a few attempts to make friends with their peers, they often show a preference to play alone. This is because the anxiety of peer relationships is too much for them, and they find more peace by being alone.

Quite often, PDD autism is noticed by age three. This is not true for all children, but holds true for a majority. Other signs are repetitive motions and play, tantrums that result from the tiniest disruption of their daily routine, occasional aggressive behavior (probably as a result of failed communication), and being too sensitive or not sensitive enough to outside stimulation. All children with PDD will have different symptoms and different levels of function. Early diagnosis is a great help, and can lead to a better quality of life on down the road for many with PDD.

By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter for more information on autism. In the newsletter you'll find out more about the signs and symptoms of autism.

Autism and Intelligence

                

 

While the average IQ rate of the population seems to be about 100, patients with autism mostly have a decreased one due to the learning disability or creating the disabilities; some of the autistics though have shown a normal or even high IQ rate. From this reason many sufferers from the Asperger syndrome are able to lead a normal life.

The autistic disorder is usually diagnosed during childhood, especially around the age of 3-4 when parents notice an abnormal behavior in their children. Some children however can remain undiagnosed until the age of 12 and the medical treatment is mostly hard to begin at this age. Many autistic children are only diagnosed after going to school as they show their poor social skills or a challenging behavior. Especially patients with the milder form called Asperger syndrome can remain undiagnosed until later opportunities occur.

No exact method of autism diagnose is known. Still, doctors must firstly eliminate other conditions by performing hearing and blood tests. Autism is diagnosed by the close observation of the behavior, social skills and ability to communicate. Parents and specialists must work together to identify a possible autistic disorder. If suspicion of autism persists, the child will be seen by a group of specialists such as a pediatrician, a child psycho loge and psychiatrist, a speech therapist and an educational expert. Every autistic child must have his personal caretaker which will closely observe the patient?s assessment and progresses.

An appropriate treatment for autism includes education, special behavior and speech training and even medications in some cases. Children with autistic disorders require special care in an appropriate school environment or in regular schools with additional help if the symptoms are moderate. The progresses of the patients very much depend on a well organized structure of the classes and classrooms. Schools must also use methods to help the patients find new ways of expressing themselves.

An adequate behavior therapy can only be provided by a clinical psychologist and will help the family to better understand the child?s needs. Some neurovegetative abnormal actions can be controlled by medications. Autistic children have frequent outbursts of aggressiveness, obsessions, hyper agitation and hyperactivity of their behavior. Used for a longer period of time, these drugs can show dangerous side-effects like provoking obsessions and repetitive actions.

Other therapeutic approaches are known, but they are however not approved by medical organizations as their benefits are not been proven. Music therapies can help calming down the patients while symbols and pictures might improve the communication skills. Another unscientifically proved method of treating autism symptoms is the use of the Secretin hormone.

The autistic child requires permanent care and the parent will need another qualified persons to help with the child?s observation. Caretakers of patients with such disorders are also entitled to an allowance for disabilities.

For greater resources on Autism or especially about signs of autism please click this link http://www.autism-info-center.com/signs-of-autism.htm

How We Talk to Children with Autism

                

 

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

I'd like to discuss how we talk to children with autism. One of the things that strikes me is the wide range of what is considered acceptable. I'm not talking about teaching methods. Specifically, I'm talking about the tone and volume in which we speak to these children. I know that they're often difficult to reach and may require multiple attempts to get them to attend or to understand what is being said to them. I also understand that this can be frustrating and confusing at times, but it's everyone's job to stay calm and talk to them in a reasonable manner.

There are many teachers and therapists in special education that would never speak harshly to any child. However, I've heard many speak to children with autism in ways that no regular education program would tolerate, and it seems that this practice is still widespread. My theory is that this habit of loud, cruel voices has been accepted for so long that no one questions it. It's left over from the days when persons with autism were yelled at, slapped and cattle-prodded to get them to comply.

Everyone knows that being spoken to harshly and punitively can break a person's heart, spirit and self-esteem over time. Our children are no different. They need to feel loved, accepted and cared for. Cruel and abusive tones alone can be harmful, even without negative words attached.

My suggestion is that we ask our teachers to speak to our children with kindness and respect. At times when firmness is called for, everyone can still speak kindly while staying firm. It's all in the choice of tone and language.

We want our children to grow into their full potential. It can't happen if they're feeling anxious or depressed or if their self-esteem has been damaged. We need to lay the foundation first- love, trust, respect, acceptance and kindness. Then we can build instruction over that foundation, taking care not to displace it. If you think about it, it's all relatively common sense. We all learn and become our best in this kind of supportive and accepting atmosphere. Our children do too.

Sandra Sinclair, www.autismvoice.com

Sandra Sinclair is a parent of a child with PDD-NOS. Sandra assists parents of children with autism spectrum disorders. She is also author of Newly Diagnosed Autism Spectrum - A free mini-course with 7 clear steps you can take to help your child with Aspergers, Autism, PDD-NOS, and other autism spectrum disorders. http://www.autismvoice.com/blog/7StepstoHelpChildrenwithAutism