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What You Should Know

Assalamualaikum wbt dear fellow readers,

the purpose of putting up this blog is to spread the awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) among the people who are not yet familiar with it. We are so honored to be able to do a research on this topic as part of our course project (Physiological Psychology) which is not only to broaden our knowledge or merely just to pass this course but InshaAllah to make the people out there realize the importance of knowing the existence of Autism.

 First of all let me explain, preferably in points (rather than using long essays) to clarifies the background of Autism itself.

 What is Autism?

The word autism derives from the Greek autos, meaning "self".

• Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills.
• Person with Autism were unusually fascinated in themselves and showed little interest in others
• The following are the 4 types of Autism Spectrum Disorder:

While the presentation of the disorder varies from individual to individual, there are 3 areas of deficits that are common among individuals with ASD:

• deficits in social interactions; 
• deficits in verbal and non-verbal communication; 
• repetitive behaviors or narrow interests. 

Causes for Autism 

• the cause of the ASD remain unknown
• scientific evidence supports that possible cause includes the abnormalities in brains structures and function. 
• Recent research into the anatomy and functioning of the human brain has indicated that there are consistent differences between the brains of autistic and non-autistic individuals (Dodd, 2005). 
• Genetic factors may sometimes involved

Symptoms of Autism (The symptoms may vary from moderate to severe)

• most children with ASD can be reliably diagnosed by the age of 3
• These children do not follow the typical patterns of child development. 
• May not respond to eye contact or smiles, or may avoid eye contact
• Cannot start or maintain a social conversation
• Communicates with gestures instead of words
• Be overly sensitive in sight, hearing, touch, smell, or taste
• Have unusual distress when routines are changed
• Perform repeated body movements
• Show unusual attachments to objects  
    
  

Treatment

• An early, intensive, appropriate treatment program will greatly improve the outlook for most young children with autism. 
• Most programs will build on the interests of the child in a highly structured schedule of constructive activities. 
• Visual aids are often helpful.
• Treatment is most successful when it is geared toward the child's particular needs. An experienced specialist or team should design the program for the individual child. 
• A variety of therapies are available, including:-Applied behavior analysis (ABA)
  -Medications
  -Occupational therapy
  -Physical therapy
  -Speech-language therapy

Other Links that may help you guys!
http://www.autism.my/resources.html
http://www.younme.com.my/contact.php
http://www.nasom.com.my/

That's all for now! We're gonna update this blog as often as possible depending on our class schedule and all. Have a productive weekend peeps!