Diagnosis and Definitions for Autism Spectrum Disorder

It is known there is no specific diagnostic test for Autism Spectrum Disorder, and the best way to get a diagnosis is to make a multi-disciplinary evaluation.
A psychologist or psychiatrist experienced with Autism Spectrum Disorders can make a diagnose for adults, and in what concerns children, they must be tested by a number of professionals, which will provide the needed information to make decisions about program and treatment approaches.
It was seen that the age of diagnosis ranges, depending on the circumstances from approximately 18 months through to adulthood.

Autism Spectrum Disorder deals with several labels, for example at an end of the spectrum there can be diagnoses like "Asperger Syndrome", "High Functioning Autism" and "PDD-NOS”, and at the other end, we can find labels like "Autism", "Classic Autism" and "Kanner Autism". Several labels place people at different points of the spectrum.
We can say that the term Autism Spectrum Disorder is used because there is a great variation from person to person, which depends on the severity and combination of each area of impairment. It is known that together with Autism Spectrum Disorder may exist also other conditions or disorders, like speech and language disorders, anxiety and depression, intellectual disability, epilepsy, attention disorders, Tourette Syndrome and Down Syndrome.

Usually, before the age of 3, in autism, clearly appear severe and sustained impairments in the social and communication areas. The child is observed as being different than other children, he is anxious, responds unusually to many different stimuli, has poor attention and motivation, and speech can be delayed or largely absent. The child can also have a range of ritualistic behaviours, like hand flapping, finger gazing or toe walking. It was seen that the child or adult with autism can be also intellectually disabled.
We can mention a loosely used term to describe a child or adult who meets the criteria for a diagnosis of Autism, but is not as severely affected as the more classically autistic person-High Functioning Autism.

Asperger Syndrome deals with severe and sustained social impairments, but the impairments in the language and communication area aren’t so severe. The speech develops within the normal age range, but effectively communication is impaired.
It was seen that the impairments become more evident as the child reaches pre-school and school age, being more subtle in the very young child.

There can also be given a diagnosis for children who present with some of the characteristics of either Autism or Asperger Syndrome, but not severe enough for a diagnosis of either of these conditions and this is Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified.

More informations about autism causes or about autism symptoms can be found by visiting http://www.autism-info-center.com/