Autism in Adults – A Brief Review

When there are problems in communication with others either verbally or non verbally. When there is a difficulty in social interaction. When there is a behavior that is recurring. All the aforesaid symptoms are those of Autism, which is known as Autism spectrum disorder (ASD).  Other symptoms include attention and intellectual disability, motor coordination issues, gastrointestinal disturbances, sleep disturbances, etc. Though, it is also a known fact that people with Autism excel in maths as well as subjects like art and music and visual skills too. Autism also includes some disorders that come under subtype like persuasive development disorder, asperger syndrome, rett syndrome as well as autistic disorder. 

When your kid is small, and if you find any of the above mentioned symptoms, there could be a possibility of Autism and it is required for you to consult a doctor. Though, initially you can do a small check on the same by following the procedure given below. 

Check whether your child smiles, feels happy or joyful facially in the first six months.

After 9 months are over check for the expressions on the face, sound exchange and more. 

If this goes on for 12 months and even post 12 months your child does not smile or show facial gestures or expressions or not sign of blabbering also and if post 16 to 24 months the child she should be able to talk then it’s time to show the child to the pediatrician immediately.

 

Autism unlike other diseases does not have the same treatment of every patient. As it comes with various disorders or subtype disorders rather, the treatment for it varies from patient to patient. In behavioral sessions for Autism it is required that the family members of the patient participate whole heartedly. For early intervention, the Treatment for Autism is managed at home itself. The parents of the child are trained by the therapists and then under the monitoring of the therapists the therapy is undertaken by the parents. If the therapy is started early, it is very helpful to the child and helps in improving the social skills, learning disabilities and communication also. Most of the time care is required for the age of 22 but when the case is more complex, life time residential care is required for patients with autism. As far as autistic friendships are concerned, these kind of people are attracted to the other autistic people because both of them share the same interests, obsession as well as similar personalities. Some of the adults can even live independently or semi-independently with the support of their family, friend and therapist. The government plays a vital role in autistic care. There are various programs with the government which includes funding from the government under different schemes. The program like Supplemental income as well as social security disability (SSDI). They also provide group home facilities which is supervised and helped by housekeeping, meal preparation and more. 

So, even if Autism is a disorder which requires care, a happy and semi-independent life still exists around it.