Autism is a\u00a0life-long developmental disorder that affects an individual\u2019s ability to interact with the world around them<\/strong>.<\/p>\n While we have all heard about autism, most of us have only vague ideas of what the diagnosis means. Individuals with autism have difficulties making friends and participating in everyday social interactions. They often have restricted interests and behavioral patterns, and find comfort in routine and repetition.<\/p>\n Since it is a spectrum disorder,\u00a0autism affects children in different ways<\/strong>, and no two autistic children are exactly alike. This makes things very confusing for parents who are battling to come to terms with what is best for their child, as\u00a0signs of autism\u00a0<\/strong>vary greatly. It may be helpful to devise an\u00a0autism symptoms checklist<\/strong>\u00a0to aid in diagnosing the disorder.<\/p>\n A common struggle for parents is the desperate efforts to try and \u201creach\u201d their child, as\u00a0they seem to exist in their own private world within their minds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n There are currently\u00a0no medical tests which can diagnose autism<\/strong>. Signs of autism vary from individual to individual . Diagnosis is usually based on careful observation as well as information provided by parents and other caregivers on the child’s behavior, communication, social interaction, and developmental levels.<\/p>\n There are also a number of screening tests or questionnaires which can be performed, including the CARS rating (Childhood Autism Rating Scale) and CHAT (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers).<\/p>\n Diagnosis can be made by pediatricians, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, or by a multi-disciplinary team, usually utilizing an autism symptoms checklist.<\/p>\n There is\u00a0no known single cause of autism<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It is known that autism is a neurological disorder, and that there are\u00a0differences in the shape and the structure of the brain<\/strong>\u00a0of autistic children as opposed to non-autistic children \u2013 although this is not always the case.<\/p>\n While it is not known whether autism has a genetic link, the exact genes involved are unclear. Families with one autistic child have 3% – 5% chance of having a second autistic child (this differs to the 0.5% risk of the general population).<\/p>\n Certain\u00a0\u2018triggers\u2019 have been implicated as possible precipitators of the disorder<\/strong>. These could include problems in pregnancy and birth, viral infections, exposure to certain environmental chemicals or pollutants, or even allergies to certain foods (i.e. gluten or dairy products).<\/p>\n There are also suggestions that autism may be caused by a reaction to childhood vaccines, especially those containing high amounts of mercury. Obviously more research is needed in this area.<\/p>\n It is important for parents to note that\u00a0autism is not a mental illness<\/strong>\u00a0and is NOT caused by bad parenting or problems in the home.<\/p>\n While there are\u00a0many different theories about the best course of treatment for autism<\/strong>, most professionals agree that the earlier treatment begins, the better the chances are that the child will be helped.<\/p>\n While there is a place for prescription medication in certain cases of autism, careful consideration and caution should be taken due to possible side effects.<\/p>\n There are also\u00a0natural treatments for autism<\/strong>, including herbal and homeopathic remedies which can help maintain harmony, health, and systemic balance in the brain and nervous system, without side effects or sedation.<\/p>\n The\u00a0best results are usually achieved by using a multidisciplinary approach<\/strong>\u00a0and combining different therapies. It may take some time and experimentation to find the right combination of therapies for the individual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is Autism? Autism is a\u00a0life-long developmental disorder that affects an individual\u2019s ability to interact with the world around them. While we have all heard about autism, most of us have only vague ideas of what the diagnosis means. Individuals with autism have difficulties making friends and participating in everyday social interactions. They often have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ailments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29440"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29440\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How Common is Autism?<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
Diagnosing Autism<\/h3>\n
Recognizing the Symptoms of Autism<\/h5>\n<\/div>\n
What Causes Autism?<\/h3>\n
Help for Autism<\/h3>\n