Autism - Help to Solve the Puzzle

Autism is a Childhood disease. Autism is also called Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) or Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). In general term Autism is a disorder that is usually first diagnosed in early childhood. The main signs and symptoms of autism involve communication, social interactions and repetitive behaviours. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism involves many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not well understood.

Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants. In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects. Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes, such as heavy metals, pesticides or childhood vaccines; the vaccine hypotheses are biologically implausible and lack convincing scientific evidence. The prevalence of ASD is about 6 per 1,000 people, with about four times as many males as females. The number of people known to have autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice.

Children with autism might have problems talking with you, or they might not look you in the eye when you talk to them. They may have to line up their pencils before they can pay attention, or they may say the same sentence again and again to calm themselves down. They may flap their arms to tell you they are happy, or they might hurt themselves to tell you they are not. Some people with autism never learn how to talk.

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Because people with autism can have very different features or symptoms, health care providers think of autism as a "spectrum" disorder. Asperger syndrome is a milder version of the disorder. The cause of autism is not known. Autism lasts throughout a person's lifetime. There is no cure, but treatment can help. Treatments include behaviour and communication therapies and medicines to control symptoms.

Autism is a highly variable brain development disorder that first appears during infancy or childhood, and generally follows a steady course without remission. It symptoms gradually begin after the age of six months, become established by age two or three years, and tend to continue through adulthood, although often in more muted form. It is distinguished not by a single symptom, but by a characteristic triad of symptoms: impairments in social interaction; impairments in communication; and restricted interests and repetitive behaviour. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis. Autism's individual symptoms occur in the general population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line separating pathologically severe from common traits.

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Symptoms of Autism
Autistic individuals display many forms of repetitive or restricted behaviour, which can be categorized as below -

* Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, making sounds, head rolling, or body rocking.
* Compulsive behaviour is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
* Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
* Ritualistic behaviour involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.
* Restricted behaviour is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.
* Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging.

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