Autism
A spectrum of developmental disabilities
Overview
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of developmental disabilities that can cause social, communication and behavioral challenges for affected children and adults. Autism is known as a spectrum disorder because of the wide range of symptom severity that people can experience.
Screening and diagnosis
A behavioral developmental pediatrician or neuropsychologist in the state of Alaska will use diagnostic tests or interviews and observations to identify with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
A child with an autism spectrum disorder may exhibit some or all of the following:
- Doesn’t respond to their name by 12 months old
- Doesn’t point at objects to show interest by 14 months old (such as pointing at an airplane flying overhead)
- Doesn’t play “pretend” games by 18 months old (such as pretend to feed a doll)
- Avoids eye contact and wants to be alone
- Has trouble understanding other people’s feelings or talking about their own feelings
- Has delayed speech and/or language skills
- Repeats words or phrases over and over
- Gives unrelated answers to questions
- Gets upset by minor changes
- Has obsessive interests
- Flaps hands, rocks body, or spin in circles
- Has unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel
- Has trouble sleeping
- Parents can learn about developmental milestones here.
Parents can learn about developmental milestones from Thread Alaska.