Further, some children with ASD my present hyper and hyposensitivity to various sensory stimuli, presenting an extreme response to various sounds, lights or smells, or a decreased reaction to pain. [academic.oup.com]

Specific social interaction, communication and behavioral problems must be present before the diagnosis can be made. [gulfbend.org]

This diagnosis is characterized by two groups of features: “persistent impairment in reciprocal social communication and social interaction” and “restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior,” both present in early childhood. [spectrumnews.org]

All signs do not have to be present for a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, but children must have difficulties in both A and B. The signs can vary widely in severity, but must impair children's functioning. A. [merckmanuals.com]

Please note: At present, the term 'autism' is sometimes used interchangeably with the term 'autism spectrum disorders' to mean any or all of the different forms of ASD. It is also sometimes used interchangeably with the term 'autistic disorder'. [researchautism.net]

• Developmental Disorder

  Also called: ASD, Pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) Summary Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout a person's life. [medlineplus.gov]

• Pain

  Sensory sensitivity Autistic people may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light, colours, temperatures or pain. [autism.org.uk]

  These may include seizures, problems with sleep, gastrointestinal problems (feeding problems, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and behavioral health problems (such as anxiety, ADHD, irritability, and aggression). [healthychildren.org]

  A child with hyposensitivity may be less averse to physical pain than others. In other cases, children may show a strong preference or display fascination with certain textures, smells, tastes, sights, or sounds. [psychcentral.com]

  Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interests in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g., apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination [researchautism.net]

  […] having significant need for a predictable routine or structure, exhibiting intense interests in activities that are uncommon for a similarly aged child, experiencing the sensory aspects of the world in an unusual or extreme way (such as indifference to pain [psychiatry.org]

• Pathologist

  Speech-language pathologists, or SLPs, can help. Visit ASHA ProFind to locate a professional in your area. [asha.org]

  This means a team – consisting of a pediatrician, psychologist and/or speech pathologist – will assess your child. As features vary so much between children, there is no single or simple test for ASD. [rch.org.au]

  A multidisciplinary team usually includes a paediatrician or child psychiatrist, a psychologist and a speech pathologist. It might also include other professionals like an occupational therapist. There’s no single test for ASD. [raisingchildren.net.au]

  The team of specialists involved in diagnosing your child may include: Child psychologists Child psychiatrists Speech pathologists Developmental pediatricians Pediatric neurologists Audiologists Physical therapists Special education teachers Diagnosing [helpguide.org]

  Diagnosis of autism in children Autism in children is diagnosed through observation by a multidisciplinary team of the following health professionals: paediatrician psychologist or psychiatrist speech pathologist. [betterhealth.vic.gov.au]

• Hearing Impairment

  Your child will undergo a formal audiological assessment where he or she is tested for any hearing impairments, as well as any other hearing issues or sound sensitivities that sometimes co-occur with autism. [helpguide.org]

  Functional problems and disorders: feeding problems, including restricted diets urinary incontinence or enuresis constipation, altered bowel habit, faecal incontinence or encopresis sleep disturbances vision or hearing impairment. [pathways.nice.org.uk]

• Social Isolation

  Autistic people can find social skills and social communication very difficult. This may mean that they appear disinterested in others, ‘aloof’ or unsure of how to engage in social interactions. [betterhealth.vic.gov.au]

  Read more about communication and social interaction, social isolation and social skills. [autism.org.uk]

  Complications Problems with social interactions, communication and behavior can lead to: Problems in school and with successful learning Employment problems Inability to live independently Social isolation Stress within the family Victimization and being [mayoclinic.org]

  "Lifelong eccentricity and social isolation. II: Asperger's syndrome or schizoid personality disorder?". The British Journal of Psychiatry: The Journal of Mental Science. 153: 783–791. doi:10.1192/bjp.153.6.783. ISSN 0007-1250. [en.wikipedia.org]

  Social isolation and apparent preference for aloneness. Reduced or absent greeting and farewell behaviours. Lack of awareness and understanding of socially expected behaviour. [pathways.nice.org.uk]

• Anxiety Disorder

  Anxiety can include social anxiety, anxiety about public speaking as well as test anxiety. [en.wikipedia.org]

  […] have some of the same or similar characteristics (social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, social communication disorder, to name a few). [verywellhealth.com]

  Children and young people The assessment could include the following: Mental health and behavioural problems and disorders: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) anxiety disorders and phobias mood disorders oppositional defiant behaviour tics [pathways.nice.org.uk]

  In adults, some ASD symptoms can overlap with symptoms of other mental health disorders, such as anxiety disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). [nimh.nih.gov]

• Stereotyped Behavior

  Stereotyped movements or behaviors with objects can involve hand flapping, finger flicking, coin spinning, lining up objects, and other repeated actions. Stereotyped phrases or words are also common, such as parroting others’ speech. [psychcentral.com]

  […] deficits in initiating and responding to social cues unusual, restricted or repetitive behaviors (also called "stereotyped" behaviors or stereotypies), intense interests and/or unusual sensory behaviors These symptoms typically occur in the first few [childrenshospital.org]

  Children have some combination of impaired social interaction and communication, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, and uneven intellectual development often with intellectual disability. [merckmanuals.com]

  For a diagnosis of autism, a child must have a specified number of symptoms in these areas: social interaction communication (including language delay) restricted range of behaviors, activities and interests (often called stereotypic behaviors) If you [med.umich.edu]

• Aggressive Behavior

  There is evidence that atypical antipsychotic drugs (eg, risperidone, aripiprazole) help relieve behavioral problems, such as ritualistic, self-injurious, and aggressive behaviors. [merckmanuals.com]

  When stressed, he or she may exhibit disruptive or even aggressive behavior (breaking things, hitting others, or harming him or herself). [helpguide.org]

• Hyperactivity

  Signs and symptoms of autism in a child, such as ADHD, OCD, depression, there, epilepsy and hyperactivity. Size Guide Image Size Ideal For S Web & blogs, social media and mobile apps. M Brochures & catalogs, magazines and postcards. [123rf.com]

  They include gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, seizures, sleep disturbances, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and phobias. [autismspeaks.ca]

  In this regard, the concurrence of attention deficit hyperactivity, seizures, intellectual disability, and mood disorder along with autism is well recognized. [frontiersin.org]

  Pupils with ASD may also experience erratic sleep patterns, display unusual eating habits, engage in self-injurious or aggressive or hyperactive behaviour, exhibit an unusual posture or gait, and have irrational fears or phobias. [sess.ie]

  Some studies, and anecdotal evidence, have suggested that diet can help improve symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a condition similar to autism. Find out more about the ADHD diet. [healthline.com]

• Echolalia

  Other signs your toddler may have autism include: Echolalia: the continued repetition of words or phrases Not pointing at anything or responding when you point to something Having few, if any, gestures: Not waving goodbye Not engaging in pretend play [speechandot.com]

  Verbal difficulties may include a delay in the development of language, comprehension difficulties, literal thinking and speech, poorly modulated intonation and delivery of speech, echolalia (echoing speech), unusual vocabulary, and repetitive use of [sess.ie]

  […] understanding nonverbal communication, difficulty making and keeping friends, difficulty maintaining typical back-and-forth conversational style Restricted and repetitive behavior, patterns, and interests What this can look like: Repeating sounds or phrases (echolalia [autism-society.org]

  A person with autism may lose early words; be hard to understand; repeat words or phrases they just heard or that they heard days or weeks earlier (echolalia); use a robotic or singsong speaking voice; talk very little or not at all; and use challenging [asha.org]

  (echolalia) Counting and naming the alphabet over and over is also common. Non verbal communication is often difficult to pick up on for a lot of children with ASD. [1000hours.com.au]

• Stroke

  NIH: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Asperger Syndrome (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke) - Short Summary [medlineplus.gov]

• Irritability

  These may include seizures, problems with sleep, gastrointestinal problems (feeding problems, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and behavioral health problems (such as anxiety, ADHD, irritability, and aggression). [healthychildren.org]

  With medication, a person with ASD may have fewer problems with: Irritability Aggression Repetitive behavior Hyperactivity Attention problems Anxiety and depression Read more about the latest news and information on medication warnings, patient medication [nimh.nih.gov]

  Efficacy and tolerability of pharmacotherapy options for the treatment of irritability in autistic children. Clin Med Insights Pediatr. 2014;8:17-30. [ Links ] 41. Wink LK, Early M, Schaefer T, Pottenger A, Horn P, McDougle CJ, et al. [scielo.org.mx]

  Children with autism may be suddenly set off by a change in schedule, a noise, or anything else that irritates them. [onhealth.com]

  Pharmacological treatments Medications are sometime needed to treat the comorbid symptoms of irritability, aggression, and hyperactivity in individuals of ASD. [academic.oup.com]

• Global Developmental Delay

  These disturbances are not better explained by intellectual disability (intellectual developmental disorder) or global developmental delay. [researchautism.net]

Treatment Treatment While children are not typically cured nor do they outgrow autism, studies have shown that symptoms can improve with early diagnosis and treatment. There is no single treatment for autism. [psychiatry.org]

What are treatments for ASD? Treatment for ASD should begin as soon as possible after diagnosis. [nimh.nih.gov]

What treatments are there for autism? There is no single best treatment for all children with ASD. The most important point is to start treatment as early and intensively as possible! [med.umich.edu]

Hyperbaric oxygen treatments. Hyperbaric oxygen is a treatment that involves breathing oxygen inside a pressurized chamber. [mayoclinic.org]

Autism Treatment: Behavior Programs Treatment of autism is available. [onhealth.com]

Early detection has a positive impact on prognosis, in large part due to the fact that those children are able to benefit from early intervention. [academic.oup.com]

Conclusion We demonstrate an etiological similarity between ASDs and ALTs in the normal variation and, with results from previous studies, our data suggest that ASDs and ALTs are etiologically linked. [jamanetwork.com]

Clarifying comorbidities in autism is of importance as their co-concurrence points to possible etiologies in certain phenotypic clusters and to the large variety of possible genetic and environmental factors playing an etiopathological role in ASD. [frontiersin.org]

Differences in brain structure and function probably underlie much of the etiology of autism spectrum disorders. [merckmanuals.com]

Multidimensional influences on autism symptom measures: implications for use in etiological research. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 55, 1054–1063.e3 (2016). 175. Nicolaidis, C. et al. [nature.com]

[…] different from the profiles of the general population.[124] In the US, the rates for diagnosed ASD have been steadily increasing since 2000 when records began being kept.[125] History[edit] Controversies have surrounded various claims regarding the etiology [en.wikipedia.org]

Based on epidemiological studies conducted over the past 50 years, the prevalence of ASD appears to be increasing globally. [who.int]

Epidemiology of autism in adults across age groups and ability levels. Br. J. Psychiatry 209, 498–503 (2016). [nature.com]

Sibling risk of pervasive developmental disorder estimated by means of an epidemiologic survey in Nagoya, Japan. J Hum Genet. 2006; 51: 518-522. DiGuiseppi C, Hepburn S, Davis JM, Fidler DJ, Hartway S, Lee NR, Miller L, Ruttenber M, Robinson C. [cdc.gov]

Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: epidemiology and classification. J Autism Dev Disord. 1979;9(1):11-29. [ Links ] 9. American Psychiatric Association. [scielo.org.mx]

The autism-tics, AD/HD and other comorbidities inventory (A-TAC): further validation of a telephone interview for epidemiological research. BMC Psychiatry. 2010;10:120055988PubMedGoogle ScholarCrossref 30. [jamanetwork.com]

Given the various pathophysiological pathways that have been proposed to account for the development of this disorder, it is doubtful that a single biomarker is responsible for ASD. [academic.oup.com]

Introduction (C.L.), Epidemiology (T.S.B.), Mechanisms/pathophysiology (M.W.S., G.D., R.M.J., T.C. and E.J.H.J.), Diagnosis, screening and prevention (T.C., E.J.H.J. and T.S.B.), Management (T.S.B., T.C., E.J.H.J., J.L.T. and J.V. [nature.com]

[…] major studies on autism and vaccines involving 1.25 million children worldwide; it concluded that neither the MMR vaccine, which has never contained thimerosal,[65] nor the vaccine components thimerosal or mercury, lead to the development of ASDs.[66] Pathophysiology [en.wikipedia.org]

According to the most recent study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018), ASD occurs in approximately one in every 59 births. [mayinstitute.org]

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be screened for developmental disorders at well-child preventive visits before age three. [psychiatry.org]

[…] life Symptoms that hurt the individual’s ability to function socially, at school or work, or other areas of life Additional information can be found on the NIMH Health Topics page on Autism Spectrum Disorder and on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [nimh.nih.gov]