How to know if your child has AUTISM?

Nature of Autism

     Autism is regarded as one of the severe disorders arising in early childhood. Some of the features include: extreme aloofness, avoidance of eye contact, lack of appropriate emotional responses, lack of visual and auditory responses, failure to use speech for purposes of communicxation, an obsessive need for maintaining sameness in the environment and a marked facility with objects in contrast to underreaction to people and to language.

       Autism is a behaviorally-defined syndrome. It is characterized by developmental disturbances along four essential areas, namely:
a. the development of language concepts and the ability to communicate verbally or non-verbally,
b. the capacity to appropriately relate to people, events and objects.
c. responses to stimuli
d. developmental rates and sequences.
Consequent effects of these are the difficulties with:
a. appropriate communication either verbal or non-verbal
b. appropriate social interactions
c. judgment, reasoning, and interpretations
d. following directions, organizing, sequencing, and changing routines
e. generalizations, concept development and focusing on relevant information, aspects, attributes and characteristics
f. staying on the task and paying attention outside a particular area of interest
g. reinforcement as related to all areas.