Inconsistent Behaviors in Autism
Since there are no medical tests for autism, it can be diagnosed through the presence or absence of behaviors of the child. Hence, a child must exhibit behaviors in the following four areas.
First area is the way a child develops. A normal child on his first year learns to walk, talk and interact with the people around him/her, however, if the child is slow, they learn those skills but in a slower rate. Children with autism have very inconsistent development. They may start to develop normally and then seem to stop. They start to talk and stop. They could be very good in some areas and very poor in others. The inconsistency in development is important in diagnosing autism. Second area is the way the children see the world around them. To them, the world sometimes comes in clearly and at other times does not that is why their response is also inconsistent. A child with autism sometimes can hear you and at other times they don’t. Sometimes they could act normally and there some point that they appear very withdrawn. Third area is the way they communicate. Actually, the problem in autism is not that children do not talk but rather that they do not communicate at all. They have difficulty in initiating conversations and volunteering information. A child may repeat everything heard but never use words to request things. The fourth and final area is in the way they relate themselves to people and objects and to their environment. It is hard for them to initiate and sustain a relationship with other children. With the adults, they could figure out what a child wants and needs. Autistic people relate in peculiar ways, they don’t know how to make friends. It is hard for them to learn social skills. "Inconsistency" and “Lack of an ability to communicate" are the hallmarks of autism. Persons with autism may or may not at anytime exhibit the behaviors we think of as indicative of the syndrome.
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