Autism

i don't know. probably not. Sometimes you can tell if a child is a little ''quirky'' and doesn't quite understand others verbal and non verbal cues. Some people have autistic tendencies yet don't have autism, and some have autism which is a little harder to detect. If you are worried it is best to consult a paediatrician or other professional. A person with autism does not differ in physical appearance compared to people without autism, although it has been suggested that as they grow older they might look slightly more youthful than others their age. Autism cannot be detected by physical appearance; it is detected by behaviors.

yes

Even if not diagnosed until adulthood it will have been there since birth as it's a lifelong condition.

Greater strides have been taken to involve mentally challenged children and adults with others who are not mentally challenged. They are also more accepted into 'special' sports and given challenges and it seems to be working in leaps and bounds. It's getting better every day and much less stigmatism is attached to a mentally challenged child or adult.

Depends on the person with Asperger syndrome, the person doing the hugging, what sort of hug, and what the context is.

I for example can cope with hugs if I know the person who's doing the hugging and trust them, and know they're about to hug me, and they don't over-squeeze or just leap at me with the hug.

Because of the skin sensitivity issues many of us have, unexpected hugs can feel hugely painful or frightening for some people. Always ask, go slow, do so respectfully.

Some people on the autism spectrum absolutely love being hugged.

She is still alive as of February 11, 2010.

No, Asperger's Syndrome is not communicable. You cannot "catch" it from another person.

Tony Attwood's and Carol Gray's "Discovery Criteria" describes people with Asperger's Syndrome in a positive way. So as not to infringe on copyright, I am only including a few brief phrases from it here, but links are provided below: "absolute loyalty", "unique perspective in problem solving", and "focused desire to maintain order and accuracy".

I have also included three links to parodies on neurotypicality, although some people could find them offensive, showing how certain neurotypical behaviors appear to be problems. These give different, negative perspectives on common behaviors, but might inspire thoughts on wording more positive views on Asperger's Syndrome - in contrast to the "flaws" of neurotypicality.

Autistic people can be affected in a variety of ways, it can change over time or change depending on situation. Generally speaking Autism symptoms improve as a person goes into adulthood, but they can regress as a result of stressful life events or as they enter old-age. In a child Autism may worsen if they are put under pressure to act Neurotypical or not fully supported as Autistic people.

This question is a bit biased; as many of those with high-functioning autism see it not as a curse, but a gift.

But common brain disorders which would be considered more debilitating than autism include Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's chorea.

Autism is inborn. They haven't figure out what causes autism yet.

It depends on your definition of bad. For example, if being different is bad, autism is bad. If viewing the world in a different way, perhaps noticing things that other people have missed, is good, autism is good.

There are characteristics of autism that make life more difficult for the person with autism and his or her family. There are characteristics that other people might envy, such as excellent memories. Whether or not autism is bad is a subjective view. You can get opinions, but not definitive answers to that question.

Autism doesn't change the human body, autism is a variation in the human body. Autism is a neurological difference, a person who is born Autistic has a different brain to that of a Neurotypical person.

Honestly there isnt any :p

I have Aspergers and am doing pretty good in comparison to my older brother who doesnt have it.

As a child it was difficult, if not impossible for me to speak on the phone or to other people. Now as a young adult I have no problem talking to other people or on phones. I finished high school before my brother and enrolled into college, taking DMV and preparing to move out of my parent's place soon.

Other people that I met with AS are somewhat similar but in different ways. In most cases childhood and teen years are most difficult but adulthood typically becomes easier over time, almost to the point that people don't know they have Aspergers.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD/ADHD) is a common childhood behavioural disorder that affects a child's ability to focus, organise, and finish a task. They frequently act impulsively and are easily distracted.

Though this type of behaviour is common in children, what distinguishes ADHD from normal children is the persistence of symptoms, which has an impact on the child's academic and social life. Inattention (lack of focus), hyperactivity (restlessness), and impulsiveness are the primary symptoms of ADHD. The severity of symptoms varies from child to child, but ADHD is classified as Predominately Inattentive, Predominately Hyperactive, or Combined based on the dominant indications.

ADHD Symptoms

Easily distracted.

Forgetting or being absentminded

Does not pay attention to his or her work and makes numerous errors

Has difficulty focusing and is easily distracted.

Has trouble following instructions.

Things are easily misplaced or lost.

Does not enjoy tasks that require concentration.

Hyperactivity – or agitation.

To diagnose ADHD, there is no single test that can be used. It is based on trained doctors or psychologists analysing and assessing a child's behaviour pattern, cognitive skills, and development based on the persistence of symptoms, the child's age, and the severity of the symptoms.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD), also known as pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), are conditions with various levels of impaired communication skills, impaired social skills, and repetitive behaviors or interests. Sensory issues are also very common in the autism spectrum disorders. These disorders are neither diseases nor mental illnesses. Pervasive developmental disorders are a type of developmental disorder, as the name implies.

There are five disorders included in autism spectrum disorders: autism (sometimes called Kanner's Syndrome), Asperger's Syndrome (AS), pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Rett Syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder (also known as Heller's Syndrome). Autism or autistic disorder is the most well-known of the PDDs. Characteristics of autism are impaired social skills, impaired communication skills, repetitive behaviors or interests, and abnormal or delayed skills in social interaction, language use, or play. It usually becomes apparent by age three. It is more often diagnosed in males than in females.

Rett Syndrome is the least common diagnosis. Most people with Rett Syndrome are female. They seem to have normal prenatal development and continue to develop apparently normally for the first five to 18 months. After that period, head growth decelerates, hand skills decline, social engagement with others disappears, walking appears uncoordinated, language is severely impaired, and psychomotor skills are severely impaired. The child regresses. Children who had been able to talk, stop. Children who previously enjoyed social contact now start pulling away from it. Most of those with Rett Syndrome end up in wheelchairs. Childhood disintegrative disorder is another rare autism spectrum disorder. It is diagnosed using norm-referenced tests, not parental accounts. In can be misdiagnosed as late-onset autism. These children develop apparently normally for the first two years. Then, between the ages of three and four, they have a significant loss of skills in at least two of the following areas over the next few years: communication skills, social skills, motor skills, play skills, and control of bowel and/or bladder functions. They also engage in repetitive behaviors or interests. It can also be accompanied by seizures and extremely low IQ.

Asperger's Syndrome also involves impaired social skills and repetitive behaviors or interests, but no clinically significant delay in cognitive development and language development (except socially). This condition was once labeled as infantile schizophrenia.

Pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified is used to describe a condition that matches the characteristics of a pervasive developmental disorder (impaired social skills, impaired language skills, and repetitive behaviors or interests), but does not seem to match any of the other four pervasive developmental disorders.

No single behavior can be used to identify an autism spectrum disorder. Other conditions can have similar symptoms. Also the impairments can range from mild to severe, so you cannot rule out the condition simply because one impairment seems relatively mild. Some of these behaviors occur in most children. However, the frequency and duration of these behaviors are atypical for the child's age group.

It´s the World Health Organisation that works out the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). You can check here: http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/index.html Probably near 20.000 diagoses exisist within biomedicine. But are diseases real, are they entities or are they just constructions? Mostly they only classify or describe the consequence of pathological processes.

I have read an article about the connection between febrile seizures and autism. It suggests that febrile seizures which go on to progress to 'status epilepticus' may cause brain damage and result in autistic traits. The article is called "Febrile Seizures and the Amygdala in autism spectrum disorders" by Teresa Binstock.

As children, you might see them rocking, flapping their hands, or rolling their head.

No. Autism cannot kill anyone. Having autism does not cause death or shorten one's lifespan. Having Rett syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder, might result in a shorter lifespan, but it has not been thoroughly studied.

Autism is a neurological disorder that causes someone to think a bit differently, namely in the areas of: Communication: Someone with true autism will have delays in their language development, whereas someone with an autism spectrum disorder such as aspergers may be very advanced in terms of language, but not understand subtle things such as reading body language or tone of voice. They may also speak in a monotone, or have trouble monitoring their volume of their voice. Social skills: Let me just say so that I'm not misunderstood on this that people with autism are NOT antisocial NOR is their social awkwardness their fault. What I do mean is that people with autism or ASD (autism spectrum disorders) may have trouble reading how they or other people are feeling from thir actions and responding accordingly, or forming peer relationships. This manifests in different ways for people with autism and no two autistic people are alike. Repetitive behavior: This ranges from movements such as finger flicking, rocking or spinning, to behaviors like stacking and lining up toys to being overly fixated on one thing. Being fixated on a certain topic is not necessarily a negative thing. Just because autism is a disorder does NOT mean that all autistic traits are negative. Someone who is fixated on a topic the way an autistic person is may become a savant in that field and make many contributions to it. It also is good to have direction in life and know what you want to study/work in.

I have AS and gone to school from elemantary to college and nothing serious occured. The only thing my parents did was have me see a Speech class teacher for thirty minutes once a week to evaluate how I was doing.

More academically speaking people with AS may need more time to complete something (as they tend to be very descriptive or exact) and usually need instructions to be repeated twice. Some people with AS may not understand and become upset or angry, teachers in turn are normally instructed to keep a mild distacne and speak in a calm voice (AS individuals tend to have sensitive ears, so please don't yell as this may agitate them further).

They might not liked being touched because they work differently than we do, so what might be a harmless poke, may feel like an attack to them. They also don't like hugs because they want to be left alone to do their own thing, which is to be themselves, and make themselves happy, not have others make them happy.

yes