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Doctor insights on: Autism Spectrum Disorder

A Serious Matter: The decisions to take a mate and have children are likely the most important decisions we face in our lifetime. Our ability to have and/or rear children is dependent upon our ability to parent in a responsible manner and not dependent upon a diagnosis. If you select a spouse with a known condition, be sure that you fully understand the condition and especially the long term prognosis. ...Read more

Hi, : Hi, concur with dr. Rinker. Aspergers syndrome is an autism spectrum disorder. Autism, is the most impairing of the autism spectrum disorders. Pervasive developmental disorder comes next and children with aspergers are usually the highest functioning of three. Children with autism spectrum disorder usually have sensory overload which includes tactile stimulation. I recommend talking directly with your daughter's psychiatrist about how best to deal with her tactile sensitivity. One quick option is the use of a camisole that is made of smooth or silky material as an undergarment. It is likely to create less friction against the nipples without highlighting just her nipples. Additionally, pulling bandaids off of skin repeatedly could be quite painful - especially in a child who is already sensitive. I hope this is helpful. Take care. ...Read more

Varies: Autism disorders occur on a spectrum from fairly mild impairment to very severe. Patients with ASD have problems with social interaction, communication, processing sensory information and intellectual disabilities. For a complete list and more explanation look at the cdc site. http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html. ...Read more

Find a Doctor: Get a dr who is experienced in dealing with asd, & 1 that is willing 2 listen 2 your concerns. Also connect with support group of other parents, they have been there & can help share experience. Educate yourself about options for treatment. No treatment works for every child, but there are scores of options available. Some only work for 5% of kids, but u don't know until you try something. ...Read more

Neurodevelopmental : Neuro-developmental problems like autism spectrum are just that developmental problems and should not be thought of as pathology. We have yet to understand enough about the pathology of the brain/mind to even have a specific test for these disorders. An extremely important part of intervention is psycho-educational counseling for both the parents and child. ...Read more

Many Theories: Sometimes a suspected genetic mutation is thought to be at fault. Sometimes experts feel the child has some type of unknown metabolic weakness of the immune system or unknown enzyme, then 1 or 2 or 3 insults to their system occur and it creates disorder in their neurochemical make up. Cdc claims vaccines are 'perfectly safe', others dispute this claim. More research is clearly needed. ...Read more

Terms are changing: For several decades, pdd (pervasive developmental disorder) was the broad term that included autism asperger's disorder, and several other rare but similar disorders. Gradually, the term autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has gained favor, and the new manual appear to be doing away with pdd in favor of ASD as the broad term. Also, autism and asperger's disorder by go away as distinct diagnoses. ...Read more

Aspergers: Watch these two shows for my most clear answer. Autism spectrum and aspergers in 8 mins. http://youtu.be/xg1ngp1ngds. Aspergers and the dsm5 http://youtu.Be/f5sfe6dqhro. ...Read more

Multi-dimensional: Autism manifests in various forms, probably has various causes, & is extremely complex to treat. Behavioral & social interventions are important, & increasingly psychoactive medications play an important role. These meds need be carefully selected & titrated for the individual, possibly addressing such features as anxiety, anger, mood, hyperactivity, etc. See a true expert& get the right rx. ...Read more

Not cured: But recovery is possible. It matters greatly what the symptoms are and how the person learns to adapt. Watch the hbo movie "temple grandin" to see her story about how she learned to function in society. Many different treatments work for some people and not for others. Every patient with ASD is unique their treatment should be individualized. ...Read more