Autistic children?

Question

Can someone explain me what autism exactly is?As far as I understood till now,an autistic child can't be answered to simply but you have to tell him everything,some of them are geniuses...Is that right?So what's wrong in having an autistic child if that's what happens?What is actually autism?Don't give me sites to look at,just explain in several sentences.

Answer 1

Actually, my understanding is that scientists don't really still know what causes autism. Autistic children are often very detail-focused, but don't seem to process information like other people do. They often process the details almost compulsively, to the detriment of being able to see a "big picture" or handle complex situations. In other words, they've got a serious case of not seeing the forest for the trees. There are different levels of severity with autism. People with less-severe autism might just seem a little odd, but people with more severe autism are often non-communicative, sometimes violent, and seem to get easily overwhelmed by everyday situations and interactions. I have heard that autistic children will study an object very carefully, often ignoring whatever is going on around them while they figure out whatever object they're looking at.

It's not necessarily all bad; the enhanced focus on processing details actually helps them do some tasks better in comparison to other children. For example, I heard a talk at my university this year that explained how autistic children can more quickly identify the part of a "Moses illusion" sentence that makes the sentence false. An example is "How many of each animal did Moses take on the ark?" The answer is, Moses didn't take animals on an ark, Noah did. Autistic children seem to figure out the problem with that sentence earlier, according to the professor's research.

Somebody else might be able to give you a better explanation but I hope this has helped.

Answer 2

The cause of autism is unknown, and there are varying degrees of autism. There are extremely high-fuctioning people with autism, so much so that you couldn't tell there was anything wrong with them. And, there are also people with severe cases. The severe cases are the ones you hear about the most: uncommunicative, don't want to be touched, don't want outside stimulation, and sometimes violent.

People with autism tend to ignore the 'big picture' and focus on the details. For example, a study was conducted (sorry, can't remember by who) using a movie scene. People with autism and people without autism viewed the same scene, and thier eye movements were recorded so the researchers could tell what the person was focusing on. In the scene, there was something revealed by one character about the character in the background. The 'normal' people's gaze went to that character in the background. The autistic people's gaze went to random details about the room, such as a light switch or a glass on the table. Autistic brains just don't work the same.

The geniuses you're talking about are sometimes labeled 'idiot savants,' although it is not at all politically correct. A good example of an autistic savant would be Dustin Hoffman's Rainman character. He was very good at memorization and numbers. There are also savants who are good with languages, puzzles, and even technology.

Hope it helped!

Answer 3

Autism is a neurological disease in which portions of the brain do not connect properly to other portions of the brain or to the body. This in turn affects the 'signal' if you will, that the brain will receive. That's a couple of sentences. Here's some more.

Every autistic child is different, however a majority of autistic children do not speak at all, or only speak repeats of what they hear you say. I have no idea where you got the idea of more talking is better. In my experience with my children and those in my support group is that very frequently we can only use one word or two, because their auditory processing is not mature.

In fact, the idea of autistic children as geniuses is fake. People who are geniuses are actually called 'Savants', or sometimes 'idiot savants' if they only specialize in one aspect. It is not part of autism and another disorder altogether, only 1% of autistics have this.

Other deficits a child with autism may have, besides delayed auditory processing would be verbal processing, extreme sensory defensiveness, need to move the body or parts of the body to 'regulate' or help think. Often they are sick more often because their immune system is affected. They also suffer more from undiagnosed illnesses, both mental and physical, becuase they cannot describe or tell people that something hurts or is wrong.

Answer 4

Children with autism can communicate but usually it is on their terms. They may speak but not on the same topic as you. They often won't look at your face. Sometimes they are "away with the fairies" in another world of their own making. They can be very smart in school but usually in a specific subject not across the board. They can fixate on something that interests them for instance; a toy. a game. a TV program. When older it could be computer games, building computers, taking apart motors etc. They come across as different or quite odd. A lot of people who have invented things in the past were probably autistic because their autism helped them to maintain their focus on a particular thing.

Answer 5

Autism is such a broad term. People who have it are so different from each other, there isn't a way to define it in a few sentences.

Usually they are socially retarded, meaning, they don't connect with others very well. They can't communicate well, make eye contact, read facial expressions or feel emotion. At the same time, these people may be math geniuses or amazing artists or musicians.

Again, there are SO MANY various forms of autism, it's almost impossible to define it.

Answer 6

Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder: its symptoms include differences and disabilities in many areas including social communication skills, fine and gross motor skills, and sometimes even intellectual skills.
Autism is also a “spectrum disorder.” In basic terms, this means you can be a little autistic or very autistic. At the highest end of the spectrum is Asperger Syndrome, sometimes called “The Little Professor” syndrome. At at the lowest end of the spectrum is the disorder that’s most often called “classic autism,” which often includes mental retardardation. In between are a variety of pervasive developmental disorders including Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).

The dictionary puts it like this:
A psychiatric disorder of childhood characterized by marked deficits in communication and social interaction, preoccupation with fantasy, language impairment, and abnormal behavior, such as repetitive acts and excessive attachment to certain objects. It is usually associated with intellectual impairment

Answer 7

I have a nephew who is autistic, apparently no one knows what causes it, but it is too hard to explain in a couple of sentences.

My nephew is very smart when it comes to maths, he blows me away with it!

There is nothing 'wrong' with autistic children, they just need a lot more care than a 'normal' child. Autistic children apparently too, run by a timetable, or routine is probably a better word.

A good movie to watch is Rain Man with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. Dustin's portrayal of an autistic man was absolutely outstanding and might answer a few questions.

Answer 8

Autism Spectrum Disorder is such a wide spectrum, there are problems describling it. But here are three characteristics.

1. Social Impairment such as;
a. no eye contact, pointing, or gestures to communicate.
b. doesn't show off items. "Look at what I have!" type behaviour, or otherwise share interest or enjoyment with others.
- High-functioning will not make eye contact when talking with you.
- the lowest of Low-funtioning seems oblivious to the fact that someone is talking.

2. Impairments in Communication such as;
a. delay in, or total lack of speech
b. Or with Asperger's, marked impairment in the
ability to initiate or sustain a conversation with others.
- High-functioning autistics may speak with a monotone, almost robotic manner.
- the lowest of Low-funtioning won't talk at all.

3. Repetitive movements, patterns of behavior & interests such as;
a. hand-flapping, rocking, etc.
b. obsessions with objects or parts of objects.
c. inflexible adherence to routines & rituals.
- High-functioning may have funny mannerisms & can't handle improvisation. (Temple Grandlin (High functioning) was going to give a lecture using slides. She dropped the slides & therefore COULD NOT improvise to give the lecture without them!)
- the lowest of Low-funtioning will destroy couches with incessent & very vigorous rocking. My niece will throw a fit if the bus driver doesn't stop at every normal stop even if the child at that particular stop didn't come to school that day, therefore doesn't need to be dropped off.

Hope this helps.

Answer 9

Is ridlin am option to autistic 3 year old

Answer 10

autism is like a brain defect... their senses are displaced... there are a variety of children with autism.... from severe (non-verbal, not potty trained, very aggresive) to mild... fully functioning, with a lack of social skills...
www.autsim-society.org will answer ur questions....
there isn't anything wrong... but most children with autism cannot live a fully functioning life...