According to recent stats by the Health-E-News, one in every 110 kids in South Africa is born with autism. As an invisible disability, behaviours are often misjudged making it seem as though the child is being disobedient or mischievous.
Autism, or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a development disorder which impacts the nervous system of a child. With serious and lasting effects, it affects a child’s ability to interact, affects their social skills, behaviours, speech, and their non-verbal communication.
How does a child get autism?
To date, there is no known cause for autism spectrum disorder. Research has shown that autism is caused by abnormalities in the brain structure or function, in comparison to neurotypical children.
Possible risk of autism could stem from a range of factors for example, age of the parent, bleeding, and use of medication during pregnancy. These factors could have an impact before pregnancy, or occur during the first eight weeks after conception.
Signs to look out for
These signs are the main symptoms for autism in children:
- Abnormal facial expressions
- Unusual body posturing
- Strange tone of voice
- Avoiding eye contact
- Odd displays of behaviour
- Delay in learning to speak
- Slow language comprehension
- Struggling with social interaction
Different types of autism
There are at least five different types of autism. They are Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome, Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). These disorders differ in the depth of abnormality.
How do I know my child has autism?
Autism can be detected in kids from as early as 18 months and as late as four years of age. Detection of the disorder can be very difficult, but most parents do note certain behavioural characteristics, and delay in development as the child ages.
A medical test, like a blood test for example, cannot diagnose autism. It is diagnosed through observation. As a parent, if you think you child may have autism, do consult a doctor to have your child’s behavioural patterns assessed and diagnosed.
IMAGE CREDIT: Anna Kolosyuk on Unsplash