What are the Symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome? Children with Asperger's Syndrome exhibit poor social interactions, obsessions, odd speech patterns, limited facial expressions and other peculiar mannerisms. They might engage in obsessive routines and show an unusual sensitivity to sensory stimuli.
If young children are autistic, they might: rarely show interest in other children – for example, they might not look towards them or try to get their attention. rarely start games like peekaboo or round the garden. rarely do pretend play – for example, they might not pretend to feed a teddy bear.
The child may seem to have one-sided social interaction and limited ability to form friendships. He or she may often talk incessantly about one subject, without acknowledging the listener. Toddler's with HFA usually have difficulty in social situations (e.g., imaginative play with other kids).
They may have problems with eye contact, facial expressions, or body language. They may have a hard time forming relationships with other people. Problems are usually obvious by the age of 3, but children are often not diagnosed with Asperger syndrome until they are 7 years old.
There's not one specific test to diagnose Asperger's, but many are used to analyze and assess the condition. Some of these include: Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) This widely-used assessment tool helps identify children with an autism spectrum disorder and determine the severity of their condition.
What are the early warning signs for autism spectrum disorder? The early warning signs for an ASD include concerns about a child's social skills, communication, and restricted or repetitive patterns of behaviors, interests, activities, and emotional regulation.
Symptoms of Asperger's syndrome
Craving repetition and routine (and not responding well to change). Missing social cues in play and conversation. Not making eye contact with peers and adults.
Asperger Syndrome (ASD) is a pervasive developmental disorder that is widely described as a mild form of autism. People with ASD tend to have many of the social and sensory issues of those with more severe forms of autistic disorder but have average to above average IQs and vocabularies.
Speech pattern is marked by a lack of rhythm, odd inflection or monotone pitch. Isolation from social settings due to poor social skills and limited interests. Impaired ability to use or understand non-verbal behavior such as eye gaze, facial expressions or body language.
Some children with autism smile to show they're happy but don't share their enjoyment. Others show little facial expression or have flat affect and rarely smile so you may not know when they're happy.
A child with level 1 autism may understand and speak in complete sentences, but have difficulty engaging in back-and-forth conversation. Children with ASD level 1 experience some inflexibility of behavior, like difficulty switching between tasks, staying organized, and planning.
Sensory stimuli may be overwhelming. Cognitive deficits are common. Repetitive behaviors may be extreme and uncontrollable. These symptoms make for significant challenges such as self-injury, aggressive behaviors, and eloping.
There are several reasons why a 2-year-old is babbling but not talking. Sometimes, it may be because they are shy or introverted. It can also be related to hearing loss or other developmental delays. In most cases, however, the cause is unknown.
Aversion to certain forms of interaction, especially hugging or cuddling. Avoiding eye contact and being difficult to engage in conversation. Missing verbal or physical cues, such as not looking at where someone is pointing. Having difficulty understanding others' feelings or talking about feelings in general.
Children with autism often have speech delays, but speech delays alone do not mean your child has autism. Autistic speech delays usually occur along with other communication issues, such as not using gestures, not responding to their name, and not showing interest in connecting with people.
Unlike people with autism, people with Asperger's syndrome retain their early language skills. Perhaps the most distinguishing symptom of Asperger's syndrome is a child's obsessive interest in a particular object or topic to the point of exclusion of any other.
The hallmark features of Asperger syndrome include normal language development and normal or higher than normal IQ. The children with the condition tend to have a narrow range of interest. The interest may be in specific intellectual areas with an obsessive intensity.
Some developmental health professionals refer to PDD-NOS as “subthreshold autism." In other words, it's the diagnosis they use for someone who has some but not all characteristics of autism or who has relatively mild symptoms.
Kids with Aspergers begin to talk at the expected age, saying their first words around 12 months of age. However, their actual first words are often unusual (e.g., such first words as palm pilot, sheetrock, clock, mountain, fish, hammer). These words are generally used before the youngster says “mommy” or “daddy.”
Asperger's and ADHD are two conditions that are often confused because they have some overlap in symptoms such as social difficulties and impulsiveness. Additionally, it's common for people to have both conditions.
The cause of Asperger syndrome, like most ASDs, is not fully understood, but there is a strong genetic basis, which means it does tend to run in families. Multiple environmental factors are also thought to play an important role in the development of all ASDs.
Defining the Traits and Behaviors of Level 1 Autism
Difficulty switching between activities. Problems with executive functioning which hinder independence. Atypical response to others in social situations. Difficulty initiating social interactions and maintaining reciprocity in social interaction.
People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention. It is important to note that some people without ASD might also have some of these symptoms.
Diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be difficult because there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder. Doctors look at the child's developmental history and behavior to make a diagnosis. ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger.