Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects higher brain functions. Problems in language and social development are characteristic in this disorder. Although some signs of autism are often present in infancy, this disorder is not typically diagnosed until the child is approximately three years old, says the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. Some children with autism develop normally for a couple of years, but slow down or even regress in their development later on.
Social Development
One defining characteristic of autism is abnormal social development. A normally developing child seeks social contact with other people. This can be seen in early infancy. A typical baby seeks eye contact, wants to be held, and does not want to spend long periods of time alone. As she grows, she shares the things she is seeing by pointing at them. Most people enjoy having friends and being able to communicate with other people, something autistic people don't enjoy doing. Autistic babies do not want to be held. A child with autism prefers to play by herself and only makes contact with other people when she needs something. This continues into adulthood. Autistic teenagers and adults do not usually have friends; if they do, the relationships are shallow and are based on needs more than a wish to be together.
Autistic people of every age avoid eye contact, according to Dr. M. L. Spezio from the California Institute of Technology, in his study published in the May 2007 issue of the “Journal of Autistic Developmental Disorders.” In this study, the authors used eye-tracking, as well as a method called “bubbles,” in which part of the picture is covered to investigate which parts of the face the subjects used to recognize emotional expressions. Autistic people would mainly focus on the mouth to identify emotions, whereas healthy people would focus on the eyes.
Language Development
Language development is frequently delayed in autistic children. Normal children usually say their first words around the age of 12 months and begin to use two-word sentences roughly six months later. In autistic children, this happens much later, say doctors A. De Giacomo and E. Fombonne in “European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry” in 1998. Autistic individuals also use language differently than healthy people. They may repeat words said to them or talk to themselves instead of trying to communicate with other people. Even as adults, autistic people might only repeat a few sentences they have learned to use in certain social settings. For example, they might question every new person they meet if they went fishing over the weekend because they heard someone else do so.
Repetitive Behavior
Repetitive behavior refers to both repetitive body movements and cognitive symptoms, such as an intense interest in certain subjects. Dr. Anna J. Esbensen and her colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Madisonin examined over 700 children, adolescents and adults suffering from autism in order to describe age-related changes in their repetitive behavior patterns. Their study, published in the "Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders" in January 2009, showed that repetitive behaviors are typical for young autistic children, but become slightly less frequent as these children grow older. Unfortunately, while repetitive behavior becomes less frequent as autistic patients age, self-injurious behavior, such as biting himself, tend to increase with age, says Dr. Esbensen.
Sensory Sensitivity
Many autistic people have highly sensitive sensory systems. Some autistic individuals dislike bright lights and want to keep the windows covered at all times. Some don't like music or loud sounds. It is also common for autistic people to dislike any texture in food. They might find it hard to swallow food like bread or meat and even vomit if the food is not completely smooth.
Fear of Changes
Autistic people typically dislike any changes in their environment. A young autistic child may get upset if his mother cuts her hair or if someone moves his bed. Autistic people like to eat the same kind of food and do not like to move to a different apartment or school. Typically, an autistic individual's tolerance toward changes diminishes as she gets older, says Dr. Esbensen.
References
- CDC: Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Journal of Autistic Developmental Disorders: Abnormal use of facial information in high-functioning autism.
- Journal of Autistic Developmental Disorders: Age-related Differences in Restricted Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Pediatrics: Identification and Evaluation of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Journal of Autism Developmental Disorders: Age-related Differences in Restricted Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders
