07 Jul Have you noticed that your child prefer to be alone by themselves and tends to mouth toys rather than play with toys imaginatively? Concerned that your child does not speak any words or respond to you?
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition involving persistent challenges with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behaviour. While autism is considered a lifelong disorder, the degree of impairment in functioning because of these challenges varies between individuals with autism.
Early signs of ASD can be noticed by parents or Expert Paediatric Healthcare Professionals before a child reaches one year of age. However, symptoms typically become more consistently visible by the time a child is 2 or 3 years old. In some cases, the functional impairment related to autism may be mild and not apparent until the child starts school, after which their deficits may be pronounced when amongst their peers.
The 3 key Features of Autistic Spectrum Disorder are:
1.Impaired Social-Emotional Reciprocity.
Behaviours can range from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and forth conversation, to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect, and failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
2. Delayed Speech and Language Skills.
Behaviours can include poor eye contact, lack of turn taking in conversations, delayed or odd vocalisations, delayed verbal speech and non verbal communications.
3. Restrictive or Odd Behaviours.
This refers to unusual behaviours or stereotypical body movements. This could present as flapping hands, jumping, or lining up blocks or spinning wheels on a car rather than playing with the item as intended. The person might also have difficulty transitioning from one activity to another or show distress over changes in the environment.
If you are concerned about your child’s behaviours, ring My Favourite Physio on (02) 9790 4233 or DM us @myfavouritephysio today to speak to one of our Expert Paediatric Physiotherapists today, to find out how we can help your child achieve their best potential today!