Dealing With an Autism Diagnosis A Complete Guide for Parents

By Susan Zeppieri

 

If you have a newly-diagnosed child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, then this book is for you. Given that there's still a huge stigma around mental illness and, specifically, autism, it is very important that we learn more about this disorder and educate others with up-to-date information. Here you'll find answers to your questions regarding what it means to be diagnosed with autism, what the warning signs are, common co-occurring diagnoses, and what the intervention options are. This book will also explain how to respond to an autism diagnosis, the parent's role, and how to support your child. In addition, we will address parental concerns and frequently asked questions. This book will give you all the tools you need to deal with everyday problems, such as:

Safety

Language acquisition

Social skills

Going out

School

Plans

Tantrums

Traveling

Skills and talents

Implementing these strategies and knowledge will give your family a better quality of life, as well as happiness. Considering the vastness of the Internet, there's some much misinformation out there regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder. It is essential that we seek the truth from credible sources. At the end of the book, you can find lots of helpful resources for you and your child.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Susan Zeppieri
• Release date: Nov 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201141455

Book preview

Introduction

Over the past few years, the stigma around Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been fading away. More people are diagnosed with ASD daily and are getting the help they need. Nevertheless, sometimes parents are still confused, due to the increasing amount of information and conflicting advice they get from the internet. For this reason, it is essential to stress out the importance of seeking professional help if you think your child might have ASD and follow medical advice. On that note, this book is not to be used as a substitute for medical help or as a tool for diagnosis, but as a guide with tips and tricks on how to support yourself and your child, containing advice on how to make your family happier. There are great mental health professionals out there, who are trained and ready to give you a helping hand.

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)?

In this part, we will start by learning the basics about ASD; you will learn all about the symptoms, diagnosis, causes and prevalence of ASD. Here, you will find the basic information about ASD. Let us keep in mind, however, that this information is not intended to be used to diagnose, but to help you understand what ASD is and what it looks like from a clinical perspective. If you think that you or another person has ASD or is exhibiting the symptoms, please, refer to a professional.

History

Before the ‘40s, people with ASD were thought to have emotional disturbances or an intellectual disability (Matson, 2017a). It was also classified as childhood psychosis. In 1943, Leo Kanner, an American psychiatrist, was the first to talk about autism as a distinct disorder. In other words, he was the first to identify the main characteristics of ASD: deficits in communication, social interactions, forming relationships, and repetitive behaviors and interests. He reached this conclusion by observing his patient’s symptoms and their parent’s reports of family, medical, and developmental history, which are still used today. Kanner used the term early infantile autism to describe these symptoms in children and distinguished it from childhood psychosis. In the ‘50s more criteria were added to Kanner’s Autism. These included language difficulties, lack of participation in activities, obsessions, nervousness, and family characteristics. The theories of the time suggested that autism was a result of an overwhelming assault on the inner or outer world at an early developmental stage.

Nevertheless, this changed in the 1960s, due to the incorporation of statistics and behavioral measures in the field of psychology. At that time, psychiatrists from all over the world got together, so as to agree on sets of criteria for childhood psychiatric disorders. They agreed upon the key features of autism as such:

Difficulty in interpersonal relationships

Unawareness of personal identity

Preoccupation with objects

Resistance to change

Difficulties in perception

Excessive anxiety

Problems with language

Problems with bodily movements

Impaired cognitive functions, but with some exceptional skills

After that, more researchers came forward and included more symptoms in the diagnosis of ASD. This made the diagnosis unclear and caused disagreements on the field.

At the same time period, family physicians were able to screen kids for developmental issues, including ASD. To do that, they would compare the child’s development with the established developmental milestones (like the age when the child walked, talked, etc.) and ask the parents about the child’s development. They would also look at the child’s schoolwork or administer them an achievement test, to assess their developmental level. Checklists for behavior, symptoms, and diagnosis were also administered, some of which are still used today (though updated). During the 1970s the diagnosis expanded, and included repetitive behaviors, poor attention span, and self-injury. Moreover, during the ‘80s, it was first suggested that autism is a neurological disorder, with researchers focusing on the neurophysiological model of the disorder. Additionally, it was during the ‘90s that the criteria for ASD expanded. After 2000, to diagnose someone with autism, the clinician was required to assess the person’s behaviors, cognitive and language abilities, and developmental history. Finally, Autism Spectrum Disorder, as we know it today, was developed after 2010, assessing only two categories: deficits in social communication and restricted or repetitive interests.

Symptoms

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Firth Edition (DSM–5) of the American Psychiatric Association (2013), there are four areas that the child might have problems with:

●  Social interactions

●  Behaviors

●  The period in which the symptoms started

●  The degree of dysfunction they cause

Let us now explain these categories in a more cohesive way. Firstly, children with ASD have difficulties communicating and interacting with others. They can lack emotional reciprocity (for example, they might not be able to have a typical back-and-forth conversation, fail to start or respond in a social interaction, or have difficulty expressing their emotions, interests, or mood). Moreover, they might have difficulty understanding non-verbal communication, like avoiding eye contact, not understanding body language or gestures, as well as lacking facial expressions, and the features mentioned above. Sometimes they find it hard to develop, understand, and maintain relationships, for reasons that include difficulties in adjusting their behavior to social contexts (like speaking loudly when you’re in a library), using their imagination during playtime (most children pretend when they’re playing), and may not be interested in others.

The second category outlines common behaviors of people with ASD; these are usually repetitive behaviors, interests, or activities. They can be repetitive bodily movements, use of objects, or speech (for instance, lining up toys or flipping objects). In accordance with this repetition, there can be an insistence on routines or routine patterns of verbal and nonverbal behavior (like being upset at small changes, needing to take the same route, or eat the same food every day). Furthermore, there can be abnormal, restricted, or fixed interests, like being preoccupied with unusual objects. Children with ASD can be either more or less sensitive to the sensory information (smell, touch, taste, and sound) of the environment. This means that they may be indifferent to changes in the temperature or pain, have extreme reactions to specific sounds or textures, and be fascinated with lights or movement. The third criterion refers to the age in which the symptoms started. Typically, people with ASD start showing symptoms from 12 to 24 months old, and sometimes even earlier than 12 months. Finally, the last criterion refers