It is disorder of the brain that makes a child difficult to communicate and relate with others. Most of them will always have some trouble to share with others. The signs of autism usually begin before the child attains 3yrs.

Signs and symptoms

• There will be delay in talking and the child will appear as deaf as all the tests result will be normal.
• Repeated kind of actions, interest and play.
• The intelligence level will be below the normal.
• The teenagers will often feel depressed and anxious.
• Some people might get seizures.

Treatment

At Ahana hospitals we treat autistic persons in the following ways;

• Special behavioural training methods
• Speech therapy
• Medications
• Family training

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD)

Autism is one of a serious developmental problem that appears in early childhood (less than three years of age). However indications and severity vary, all autism spectrum disorders affect a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF ASD:

• Child with ASD might not respond when she/he is called, have poor eye contact, doesn’t like hugging and holding, disinterested in others feelings e.g., unconcerned when the other child cries, prefers to play alone with objects/toys and not with other children.
• Child with ASD might not speak much or have delayed speech, mostly speaks in an abnormal tone or in rhyming sentences or words, may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech, can’t start a conversation easily or continue with the conversations, may repeat words or phrases but doesn’t understand how to use words or phrases, he/she may find difficulty in understanding simple questions or directions.
• Child with ASD perform repetitive movements, such as rocking, rotating or hand-waving, develop specific routines or rituals and become disturbed at the slightest change. They may be interested by details of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, but doesn’t understand/realize to play with the toy as a whole.
• Child with ASD may be unusually sensitive to lights, sounds and touch, e.g. they may be excited with cold breeze from an air-conditioner. They may perform activities that could cause harm to them, such as head banging.