Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with onset during early years of the child’s development. Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD) is a condition where the child has impairment in

·       Social and communication skills, including both verbal and non-verbal interactions (poor response to name call,poor eye-to-eye contact, being solitary or in one’s own world) and,

·       Repetitive and stereotypic behaviors.Children with autism engage in self-absorbed behavior and stereotypic play.Children with autism commonly present with associated medical and psychiatric comorbidities

ASDis characterized by a developmental deviance, i.e. the pattern of development is different or deviant rather than only a delay.

· Impairment in speech and language, non-verbal communication and social interaction, compared to normally developing children.

· The motor and cognitive abilities of the child may be appropriate for age in case of ASD, and may be delayed in case of ASD with comorbid intellectual disability.

Red Flags for possible ASD in infants and Toddlers:

• No big smiles or other warm, joyful expressions by 6 months or thereafter.
• No back-and-forth sharing of sounds, smiles or other facial expressions by 9 months
• No babbling (baba, dada) by 12 months
• No back-and-forth gestures such as pointing, showing, reaching or waving by 12 months
• No words by 16 months
• No meaningful, two-word phrases (not including imitating or repeating) by 24 months
• Any loss  of speech, babbling or social skills at any age

Diagnosing ASD

Assessments and screening can be done by the Pediatrician/Psychologist at the time when parents come with complaints when children present for consultation

Development Assessment Test with MaatriApp

The Development Assessment Test can betaken on Maatri App and a detailed Report shall be generated which has been curated by a well-known Child Psychologist

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