Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a pervasive neurological developmental disability that hampers normal brain development. It affects speech and nonverbal communication, social skills, cognition, and behaviour.
This condition becomes apparent in early childhood and affects the child’s overall development. Roughly three million people live with ASD in India. Autism is known as a spectrum disorder as its symptoms and characteristics appear in a variety of combinations that affects people in different ways.
There is a wide range of severity of Autism. Each person with autism has a distinct set of strengths and challenges. Different people with ASD disorder are observed to have a wide range of IQs. Some people with ASD do not use any verbal forms of communication whereas some are highly verbal and conversational.
Some children are capable of managing their daily tasks independently, whereas some face severe challenges in doing so and need constant help. Some people are doing perfectly fine in their jobs and have families, while others are completely withdrawn from all forms of social interaction.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is not a single disorder, rather it’s a spectrum of different disorders that share a core of symptoms. Every patient that suffers from ASD disorder will have some problems with empathy, social interaction, communication, and regulating behaviour. The levels of disability and the combination of various symptoms can vary from one patient to another. Also, two patients who suffer from signs and symptoms of autism spectrum disorder can look quite different when it comes to behaviours and abilities. Hence it is important to develop a tailored treatment and management program for each patient.
