There are many children who are getting diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This has also gone to show that there are more boys with it than there are girls. The diagnosis methods have also gotten better, with early detection now possible. These have led to better handling of those detected cases. There are certain signs that shall make it easy to know whether your child has ASD. You can learn more here about such signs, and what to do when you see them.
Autism is not a physical disability, but rather one that affects a child’s social, behavioral, and communication capabilities. There will, therefore, be a difference between how autistic kids learn, behave and think and how others do. ASD symptoms are on a case by case basis. There are those who will only be affected minimally. Others get to suffer the full effect, and so will need to be cared for as long as they live.
It is hard to point to one thing as its cause. But several items can be said to be what causes it. Genetics is chief among them, where certain genes cause one to be susceptible to it. Parents who choose to conceive at a later stage of their lives risk autism manifesting in their child. Complications in pregnancy and childbirth can also result in it.
When you wish to find out if your child has autism, you have to look at certain symptoms. When you remember that these signs show differently as per each person, you will be more keen as you observe. There are some common ones that should allow you to investigate further. You can see it in poor social skills, where the child will not want to be called by name or spend time with others. They may also not be free to communicate. Some may learn to speak at a much later stage, or not learn to at all. Apart from that, their speech may turn out to be flat and lacking nuances. Things like jokes or sarcasm shall be hard for them to grasp. There is also a fixed approach to their behavior patterns, such as constant repetition of an activity or a phrase, or expecting certain things to be done through specific steps. You will also see them having trouble with their milestones later on in life. Some meet then later on, while others may not ever meet some of them.
Once you establish your child has autism, you need to adopt a proper management system. There are quite a number of them, some specific to each symptom, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, aba therapy, RDI, and others. You can discover more methods to apply that will work best for your kid on this site. It is important that apart from observing those symptoms, you have a specialist do a proper diagnosis of the condition. You can read more about how to support your child here.