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Post by momofautistic on Apr 23, 2004 2:51:26 GMT -5
- Inappropriate laughing or giggling
- No real fear of dangers
- Apparent insensitivity to pain
- May not want cuddling
- Sustained unusual or repetitive play;Uneven physical or verbal skills
- May avoid eye contact
- May prefer to be alone
- Difficulty in expressing needs;May use gestures
- Inappropriate attachments to objects
- Insistence on sameness
- Echoes words or phrases
- Inappropriate response to sound
- Spins objects or self
- Difficulty in interacting with others
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Post by momofautistic on May 2, 2004 2:33:07 GMT -5
Speech Issues> no speech; non-speech sounds; delayed speech; echolalia (mimicing words without any understanding of meaning); pronoun confusion; frustration with lack of speech common Interaction Issues> lack of peer interaction; lack of eye contact; seemingly unaware of other people; treating people as objects; parallel play rather than interactive; lack of imaginative play Behavioral Issues> not interested in being picked up/cuddled; preoccupied by hand movement; flapping hands (especially when excited or over stimulated); spinning; balancing; tiptoe walking; aggressiveness towards others; lack of interest in "normal" toys (often preferring kitchen tools); obsessive toward patterns; repetition in behavior (performing the same act over and over again, such as rewinding one section of a movie on the VCR to watch many times); lining things up; self injury; needing to live with a routine that does not change Sensory Issues> dislike of certain sounds, textures and/or tastes; dislike of being touched; very passive or very active behavior; nervousness; unaware of various physical stimuli such as pain; covering ears at loud noises; "blanking out" in active environments; often seem to be uncomfortable in extreme temperatures Splinter Skills> drawing; musical; math; calendars; memory; computers; mechanical ability such as complex video/audio equipment Biological Markers> MRI scans sometimes abnormal; serotonin levels may be raised; bowel problems; some children afflicted with seizures; sleep disturbances (not requiring as much as other children of the same age); often unusually attractive children with large eyes
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Post by momofautistic on Jun 11, 2004 23:00:24 GMT -5
What are people with Autism like?
Children with autism often appear relatively normal in their development until the age of 24-30 months, when parents may notice delays in language, play or social interaction. Any of the following delays, by themself, would not result in a diagnosis of autism. Autism is a combination of developmental challenges. The following areas are among those which may be affected by autism: *Communication: language develops slowly or not at all; use of words without attaching the usual meaning to them; gestures used instead of words; short attention spans. *Social interaction: individual may spend time alone rather than with others; show little interest in making friends; less responsive to social cues such as eye contact or smiles. *Sensory impairment: unusual reactions to physical sensations such as being overly sensitive to touch or under-responsive to pain; sight, hearing, touch, pain smell, taste may be affected to a lesser or greater degree. *Play: lack of spontaneous or imaginative play; does not imitate others' actions; doesn't initiate pretend games. *Behaviors: may be overactive or very passive; throw frequent tantrums for no apparent reason; may perseverate on a single item, idea or person;apparent lack of common sense; may show aggressive or violent behavior or injure self.
There are great differences among people with autism. Some individuals mildly affected may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challanges with social interactions. They may have average or above average verbal, memory or spatial skills but find it difficult to be imaginative. Others, more severely affected, may require intensive support to manage even the basic tasks and needs of living day to day. Contrary to popular understanding, many children and adults with autism make eye contact, show affection , smile and laugh, and show a variety of other emotions, but in varying degrees. Like other children, they respond to their environment in positive and negative ways. The autism may affect their range of responces and make it more difficult to control how their body and mind react. They live normal life spans and the behaviors associated with autism may change or disappear over time. While no one can predict the future, we do know that some adults with autism live and work independently in the community, while others depend on support of family and proffessionals. Adults with autism can benefit from vocational training to provide them with the skills needed for obtaining jobs, in addition to social and recreational programs. Adults with autism may live in a variety of residential settings, ranging from an independent home or apartment to group homes, supervised apartment settings, living with other family members or a more structured residential care site. Indivduals with autism may have other disorders which affect the functioning of the brain, such as epilepsy, mental retardation, or genetic disorders, such as Fragile X Syndrome. about two-thirds of those diagnosed with autism will test in the range of mental retardation. Approximately 25-30 % may develop a seizure pattern at some period during life.
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Post by momofautistic on Jun 11, 2004 23:05:32 GMT -5
Echolalia and Echopraxia
Some information seems to go directly from input to out with little or no processing. This results in echolalia, the echoing of speech, and echopraxia, the echoing of behavior. Initially, echolalia is generally noncommunicative. However, as children with autism mature, many learn to use echolalia to communicate. Their ability to memerize phrases and use them in a delayed form is a significant step toward learning to use spontaneous speech. However, parents and teachers must be careful not to expect that the child who uses sophisticated sounding speech really understands everything that he is saying. All children imitate the behavior of other children and adults. However, children with autism exaggerate this tendency, and the types of behavior which they imitate are often odd or inappropriate. The tendency toward echopraxia can be very probematic when the child is exposed to poor role models, but may also benefit the child who is exposed to appropriate role models. Families often complain that their child's behavior deteriorates when he/she is placed with lower functioning or behavior disordered children in school.
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