Autism-Articles

Memory is how we move thought from our fluid attention systems to our crystal knowledge. Visual memory is a very powerful and dynamic set of systems that equips the brain with enormous capabilities. How we organize memory determines how efficient we are at thinking, responding, communicating, and comprehending. The role of memory is critical to understand when you have a child diagnosed with a Pervasive Development Disorder such as PDD-NOS, Autism or Asperger's Syndrome. Many children diagnosed with PDD-NOS may have symptoms in language processing and communication because their highly visual thinking is interfering with the development of verbal skills. A child that is a highly visual thinker and has highly visual "brains" in the family tree can show as many as 50 specific symptoms in communication, attention and memory. I call this group of children "Maverick Minds." Visual thinkers experience visually what they are thinking. They follow ...

When dealing with tantrums and difficult behaviors in autism spectrum disorders, using behavioral approaches alone can sometimes fail. What is the missing piece to managing these behaviors that a behavioral approach alone may not address? To start, we need to look at the reasons for behavior. According to behavioral approaches, most of the behavior we see results from one of three reasons: a request, seeking attention, or a sensory reason. Let's look deeper at these three reasons for behavior and the ways we currently handle them. Handling a request is fairly straightforward. To put it very simply, a request is usually something externally controlled by both reinforcing appropriate requests and not reinforcing inappropriate ones, such as a tantrum. For negative attention-seeking behaviors, we can eliminate the behavior by not giving the negative behavior attention and give attention for desired behavior - very straightforward, and again, usually externally co...

Can autism be prevented? Unfortunately, no, it cannot be prevented or cured. Early diagnosis is critical and may help maximize an autistic child's ability to speak, learn and function. Regular visits to a pediatrician can help with early signs and detection. The earlier treatments can begin, the more effective they will be. Autism is a pervasive development disorder. It is actually a group of illnesses that cause delays in the development of many basic skills, such as, the ability to form relationships and socialize with others, the ability to communicate and use imagination. Many children with autism are confused in their thinking a have problems with the world around them. They usually have a limited range of interest and are unable to bond with their parents or siblings. Symptoms of autism will usually appear before age 3, but will last throughout life. Some of the symptoms are difficulty with communication, including using and understanding language, diff...

Do you know that there are specific symptoms of autism spectrum disorder? Of course there are and this article gives you hints on what their specific symptoms are. You see, for example, when the patient suffers from difficulties in having social relationships with other people, strange kinds of behavior patterns, obvious concentration on certain details of objects, as well as a kind of heightened or increased ability to expertly memorize, without the sorts of communication problems of the autism, the patient is obviously suffering from Asperger's. When your patient has perhaps one or two other basic autism symptoms without enough for the autism diagnosis, what they have is Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). Rett syndrome is a disease like autism, but one that affects only girls. The patient gets a lot of funny hand movements, loss of language and motor skills, and seizures in addition to the classic autism symptoms. But this i...

The symptoms of autism typically include - lack of eye contact, lack of interest in objects or things or even people, lack of communication skills, disinterest in relationships and social interaction, restricted interests in activities and play, mental retardation in several cases, and occasional savant skills. Autism is a disorder that affects the social, emotional, and behavioral development of children, marked by serious difficulties in interacting and communicating with other people; and with other symptoms like constantly repeating certain actions or behaviors, and having intense interests restricted to only particular things or topics. However, autism is one of a range of similar diseases that constitute the autism spectrum disorders. They are referred to, professionally, as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDDs), and they are about five in number, autism or classic autistic disorder being one of them. The others are Rett's syndrome, Pervasive Develop...

There is no secret to the fact that the earlier Autism is diagnosed and a course of treatment is prescribed that this not only benefits your child, it benefits you as well. Typically, Autism treatment is not done medically in its entirety. Other variables come into play where this is concerned such as behavioral training and management, community support as well as parental training, and some specialized therapies. In so many words, Autism Treatment can be correlated with managing the disorder. Treatment strategies The following strategies for managing and treating Autism have been recommended by the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and should help your child improve how they function overall as well as reach their potential: Behavioral management and training - positive reinforcement along with self-help and social skills training are the foundation for behavioral management and training. The primary benefit for you and your child is that it greatly enhances...

Your child may have just been diagnosed or he is showing symptoms of an autism spectrum disorders and you now wonder, What is Asperger's Syndrome? With a recent - or anticipated - diagnosis you are wondering where to turn. Perhaps you are trying to figure out what this will mean for your child and your family's future. Here you can find an overview on what Asperger's Syndrome is and what to expect in the future. First of all, Asperger's is an autism spectrum disorder. Autism is a developmental disorder than affects the way a child...or adult...interacts with, perceives and interprets the world. A spectrum means that there are many different forms of autism, ranging from very severe to very mild. Those on the more high functioning side usually get a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome. Many children as well as adults may be misdiagnosed...this is unfortunately all too common. Many are initially diagnosed with ADHD or OCD or some other condition bef...

We have had over ten years experience with tutoring and teaching our daughter with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Below is some of the Teaching Aids we used that we think were the most successful in her development and learning. These methods can be used with any child with or without an Autism Spectrum Disorder, Pervasive Development Disorder or Special Needs. Teaching Aid 1 - Setting up a Therapy Room In the beginning what got us going was the SON RISE program. Liz went to America to the Option Institute and did a two week course on how to cope with a child with Autism, methods for working with and tutoring a child with Autism and how to set up a therapy room for a tutoring a child with Autism and or Special Needs. The course is not just for Parents of children with Autism, but also for children with Learning Difficulties, Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD) and children with Special Needs in general. The course also focusses a great deal on how to deal on an e...