Diagnosis
Signs and Symptoms
The Verbal Individual With Autism Spectrum Disorder, High Functioning
Autism, or Asperger Syndrome: Have You Seen This Person?
As verbal individuals with autism are
frequently misdiagnosed, we'd like to take this opportunity to alert you
to their display of symptoms.
May
have received a diagnosis of:
-
ADD or ADHD
-
Intellectual
Disability, Mental Retardation or Learning Disability
-
Adjustment Disorder
-
Conduct Disorder
-
Oppositional Defiant
Disorder
-
Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder
-
Bipolar Disorder,
Affective Disorder
-
Schizophrenia
-
Auditory or Sensory
Processing Disorder, Dyspraxia
In the early years:
-
Development of language and communication is atypical
-
Delayed speech or
repetitive use of phrases
-
Shrink
from social contact with peers
-
May not have
pretend play with toys or imaginative play
By school age:
-
Usually talking well and can enter school
-
May
have stopped avoiding social contact and is at least tolerant of it
-
May be
socially awkward and socially immature
Over the next few years:
-
"Eccentricities" dominate his social interactions
-
A
"little professor" on topics of special interest to him
-
When
not talking about his interests, his social interactions are
immature or stilted
-
The child may
interact with peers, although others may perceive him as different
As time passes and social demands increase:
-
May
become anxious in social situations
-
Peers
may reject him and he may become depressed
-
In
school, he may be placed in learning support classes because of
social, behavioral or language comprehension problems
-
He may be
considered to have an attention problem or obsessive compulsive
behaviors
Videos of Verbal Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Please take the time to visit the following website and view the videos
of verbal individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Vincent Ho, a
child psychiatrist, received an NIMH grant to visit various autism
centers and film segments to make expert information more readily
available to the public. This is another example of how our
investigators are improving the community recognition of autism in
verbal individuals. The individuals and their families appearing in the
videos were willing to be a part of the production in an effort to help
others learn from them and their experiences.
www.autismgateway.com
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How Diagnosis is Made