childhood autism

Childhood Autism

What Is Childhood Autism?

Childhood Autism occurs basically when a child fails to develop normally in 3 main areas. These are:

They don't respond to other people in a normal way.
Their speech development is slower than normal.
They show behaviours which seem obsessive or repetitive.

Childhood Autism begins before the child reaches the age of 30 months. Mothers are often the first people to notice that something is not right as they get a sense that the child is not responding to them in the way they feel they should.

Also, quite a few children with autism develop epilepsy when they reach adolescence (usually in their early teens).

How Common Is Childhood Autism?

Roughly 1 in 5000 children suffer from childhood autism. However, if we include children who are severely handicapped, this figure rises considerably.

Boys are 3 to 4 times more likely to develop childhood autism than girls.

What Causes Childhood Autism?

Nobody is really 100% sure. Although some research seems to suggest that it is a brain problem (how it is wired), which is linked to genetic factors (i.e. you might inherit it from your parents even if they have never suffered from it).

There are also other theories which suggest it is more to do with how the child has been brought up during its early days and months. Other theories suggest that both factors play a role, but the bottom line is that despite quite a lot of effort being put into finding out what is going on, we still don't really know.

Childhood Autism can happen in any child, no matter how intelligent they are, although it is much more common in people who are mentally handicapped (almost three quarters of autism are associated with mental handicap).

Can It Be Treated?

Not Really.

Childhood Autism cannot be 'cured' and continues throughout the persons life, although there are a number of things that can be done to help both the child and their families.

Sometimes general counselling is offered to parents, to help them cope with the stresses of having and bringing up their child. Also special schooling is required. There has been a lot of debate recently about what are the best schools for children with autism, with many parents wanting to send their children to the 'best' schools which are often in a different country. It is important to be aware that even though (as with other schools) some are better than others, the realistic goals that can be reached are for the child to be able to live independently when they reach adulthood. Only between 1 in 6 and 1 in 7 people are ever able to do this.

A form of therapy called behavioural therapy is sometimes used to help the child behave in more normal ways and to develop skills to help them lead a more normal life.

Medicines can be prescribed by a doctor or a specialist, but these are usually used to treat things like behaviour problems or epilepsy that are linked to the autism and not the childhood autism itself.

We are creating a SimplePsych factsheet on Autism and Asperger's which goes into more detail while still using easy to understand English. If you would be interested at this service being offered to you please let us know by emailing us Click Here

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* RECOMMENDED BOOKS *

If you are interested in going into even more depth, the following book(s), sold by Amazon.co.uk, are recommended by us. Each is followed by a rating for ease of reading (1-3).

1=Simple and Easy to comprehend.
2=More Complex but still a good read.
3=Very Complex, only for professionals/those studying to degree level.

The Handbook of Autism (Aarons & Gittens)

RATING SCORE = 2 A very useful book, recognised by the National Autistic Society as an excellent source of information for both parents and professionals. Claims to be jargon-free but not quite up to our standards!

Autism: An Inside-Out Approach (Williams)

RATING SCORE = 1 Donna Williams (the author) is a sufferer of autism, yet she has been able to offer some invaluable insights into the condition from a sufferers point of view. Drawing on her own life she explains the condition as she sees it. Whilst some points seem a bit dodgy to us, this is a really fascinating read.

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