Autism Diagnosis

Autism is a condition that can be treated, this is the prime reason why in suspected autism cases it is best that the diagnose be made earlier than later, it must be pointed out however that autistic behavior is not a frequent thing among health communities and families, so this should not be a major concern for parents. Nevertheless it is always recommended to use experts to establish some kind of diagnosis as regards to behavioral abnormalities.

One of the many essential features concerned with children of autistic disorder is their tendency to create odd interests and poor attention and focus. Additionally, they also deficit in social interaction. Most authorities in this subject affirm that these features clearly indicate autistic factors yet they admit that these are not enough to diagnose autism among children younger than 3 years old.

Moreover, the inconsistency of symptom manifestation often hampers the proper diagnosis of autism more than the abnormality itself. There are virtually lots of factors affecting this inconsistency.

Autism can also be correlated with other conditions such as mental retardation, childhood psychoses, Asperger disorder and a couple of other neurological disorders.

Often, diagnosis begins through these three determining factors. Keep in mind though that evaluation of these three stages would not suffice the data so as to conclude that a child truly has autistic features.

Physical and neurological examinations
Examination of medical history including those that manifest through relatives. This also consists of birth history and developmental conditions, and
Medical tests to help rule out other diseases

Diagnostic criteria are used to formally determine if a child is truly subjected to autistic features. Comprehensive diagnosis can be done through routine developmental screening which concerns mostly all developmental features that are absent or deficient with autistic children.

After the recognition of these factors, the child may be given audiologic evaluation, screening test for autism and blood lead test.

During evaluation it is vital that the children are diagnosed by an experienced clinician. He must be well-learned with concerns pertaining to psychology and pediatrics.

For an initial evaluation, you as a parent can do the following:

Observation on social impairment which manifests through the following:
a. impairment of non-verbal interaction
b. weak ability to build peer relationship as observed during different developmental stages
c. lack of emotional and social reciprocity which is prone to isolation

Observation on communicational impairment which manifests through the following:
a.delay or lack of development in language facilities, more specifically the spoken language
b.lack of social plays suitable for each developmental stage
c.inability to maintain social conversation
d.idiosyncratic language or marked repetitive use of words

Noticeable patterns of activities, behaviors and interests manifested through the following:
a.continuous preoccupation with specific parts of an object
b.motor mannerism
c.limited patterns of interests
d.observance of rituals or non-functional habits

Due of course to the difficulty of diagnosing autistic features, it is best to subject the child to professional evaluation. It is not as easy though as with other diseases so be patient with findings means for efficient and effective diagnosis.

Submitted By: Jonathan Mayheart