Autism

  • Autism
    Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) is a complex neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain and, in particular, the processing of social information.  Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS)
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 27 August 2015

What are Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are a group of complex disorders with three core features:

  • Qualitative impairment in social interaction
  • Qualitative impairment in communication
  • Restricted, repetitive and stereotypic patterns of behaviour, interests and activities.

It is a complex neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain and, in particular, the processing of social information. This affects how a person sees and understands the world around them and the thoughts, intentions and emotions of others. They have problems in understanding and sharing the emotions of others and also in self-expression and self-regulation of emotions.

It is estimated that the prevalence is 1% in the United Kingdom and 1.5% in the United States. In India diagnosis is still a challenge. But the estimated prevalence on a population of 1.3 billion is more than 2 million.1  

 

Reference

1. DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.253970 Prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in Indian children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

 

Community
Developmental Challenges
Condition
Autism

Stories

  • How Dance and Movement Therapy helped a Young Girl on the Autism Spectrum
    Tripura Kashyap, founder-director of Apoorva Dance Theatre in Bangalore and one of the pioneers of Creative Movement Therapy in India writes about how Dance and Movement Therapy helped Sheela, a 12-year-old girl on the Autism Spectrum in multiple ways. Read on: Movement and dance have the power to reach out to anyone. Dance Therapy cuts across socio-cultural-linguistic divides and impacts even those who we think are unreachable, living in their own realities. Sheela* is one such person that I…
  • ‘Amma, I want to Stay and Enjoy the Festival Forever’
    The Velvi Art for Autism Festival is a unique and exciting confluence of nationally and internationally renowned artistes and the autism community to celebrate talent and culture, make friends and have fun. We bring you feedback of the participants - youngsters and their parents - and details on this year’s Festival held over three days in Bangalore recently. Like every year, the Velvi Art for Autism Festival 2017 held in Bangalore recently was ushered in with much anticipation and fanfare. The…
  • Are We as a Community Failing Special Needs Families?
    The recent incident of a mother in Bengaluru causing the death of her disabled child has stirred many reactions and caused a lot of introspection in families with disabled children. But what of the larger community? Did we give it a moment? What can we do? What should we do? During a conversation in a little cafe in Chennai with some of the early contributors of PatientsEngage, people associated with VidyaSagar, an organisation for children and adults with special needs, the commonly held…
  • A Friendship Haven for Parents and their Children with Special Needs
    Mitr is a vibrant community centre in Chennai for parents who have children with special needs, where you can bond with like-minded families, sit back and relax at the Special Needs Mitr Cafe, or engage in an exciting range of vocational classes and activities held for both parents and kids. Parents of children with special needs may feel isolated and disheartened coping with medical, financial, educational and emotional issues. Mitr is a centre in Chennai for serving parents of children who…
  • Caring for a Son with Autism and Schizophrenia
    It can be formidable task to raise a child with either autism or schizophrenia. But when the two come together, the challenge escalates. Deepak Srivastava, recounts how his wife grapples with his 22-year-old son, Soumitra’s impulsive aggression. Our second son, Soumitra, was born autistic. We did not realize it initially; it was only when his growth milestones like walking or talking were not being met that we sensed something wrong. His behaviour pattern too was odd. He would stare awkwardly…
  • I Am His Sister And He Loves me Only For That
    On Fragile X Awareness Day, Avanti Balachander,18 shares her insights of living with her brother who has Fragile X and ADHD. And her three wishes.  16 years ago my brother was born. 14 years ago he was diagnosed with Fragile X and ADHD. I would like to say it was all dandy. And that once we knew what the issue was we could work on it. But man it was difficult. No one knew anything about Fragile X back then, we had to figure it out as we went.  We were so lucky Dhruv was even verbal…
  • The Relevance of Adapted Physical Education in Schools
    Shaloo Sharma, the head of a school in Gurgaon committed to inclusive education and Sunil Bhatt, a certified physical instructor for children with special needs from Ancramdale, New York share their views on the importance of Adaptive Physical Education for children with disabilities. Adaptive Physical Education - A rights-based approach to accessible play. Every child has the right to play. According to the Right To Education, it is mandatory for every school to have a robust Physial Education…
  • 24 or more hours with the Autism Community in Delhi
    Madhusudan Srinivas, parent of a 24 year old autistic boy, Abhimanyu, shares the surprises a day throws up for families of people with autism. His life's vision is to ensure enjoyable evenings for all people with special needs, especially the community of young adults with autism.  Blips on a screen, jumble of words for you, but way beyond reality bites for me, and for us in the autism community.  Hi all, this is Madhusudan Srinivas, father of Abhimanyu  24 and autistic, and…
  • Tips for the Special Needs Parent - A Parent Shares
    Janaki Balakrishnan is not just a parent whose son has multiple disabilities, but also a Special educator and an active member of parent support organisations. She shares her observations of parents who are in similar situations and what they should ideally avoid for stress-free caregiving roles I am a parent of a young adult with special needs and live in Chennai. My 22 year old son (only child), is deaf and mute and has multiple issues such as cerebral palsy, seizures, profound mental…
  • Importance of Diet Control for Autism
    Saswati Singh, Trustee member with Navprerna Foundations, a welfare organisation for the training and rehabilitation of persons with Autism and other developmental disabilities, talks about how important food intake can be for people with autism as well as other disabilities Autism is a developmental disorder, which affects social skills, communication, thought and behaviour. This is more of a neuro-physiological disorder and affected persons have difficulty in processing and integrating…

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