Word: asd
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...some babies won't do these things, and a pattern of such deficits can be an early sign of autism. Despite these and many other early tip-offs, autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are rarely diagnosed before age 3. More subtle forms, such as Asperger's Syndrome, may not be recognized until the child begins school...
...screening for autism in 2006, but the new recommendations are more specific and backed by more information for practitioners. Two screenings are needed - one at 18 months and one at 24 months, explains Dr. Scott Meyers, who authored one of the reports, because about a quarter of children with ASD appear to develop normally at first and then regress - losing early language and social behavior - sometime between 15 and 24 months...
What such individuals have to say about their experience is offering new clues to their condition. It also conforms remarkably to what scientists see inside their brains. By and large, people with ASD have difficulty bringing different cognitive functions together in an integrated way. There is a tendency to hyperfocus on detail and miss the big picture. Coordinating volition with movement and sensation can be difficult for some. Chandima Rajapatirana, an autistic writer from Potomac, Md., offers this account: "Helplessly I sit while Mom calls me to come. I know what I must do, but often...
...need for repetitive motions or words as a search for "local coherence" in a world full of jarring randomness. He also conveys the social difficulties: "Striking up conversations with strangers," he writes, "is an autistic person's version of extreme sports." Indeed, at a recent retreat for people with ASD, attendees wore colored tags indicating their comfort level with spontaneous conversation: red meant don't approach, yellow meant talk if we've already met, green indicated, "I'd love to talk, but I'm not good at initiating...
Perhaps the worst fate for a person with ASD is to have a lively intelligence trapped in a body that makes it difficult for others to see that the lights are on. Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich at the University of California, San Francisco, studied an autistic boy who is unable to speak or even sustain his attention to a task for more than a few moments, and yet is aware of his condition and writes remarkable poetry. How many other autistic kids, Merzenich wonders, "are living in a well where no one can hear them...