The Autistic Child

A cluster of aberrations found in the autistic child - inability to interact with people in an ordinary way,  perpetuation of sameness in surroundings and behaviour, failure to use language as a communicative tool, and paradoxical intellectual profile. As strikingly unique as this set of symptoms may appear, diagnostic problems have risen because the symptoms rarely emerge in a clear, well-ordered fashion to form the full-blown syndrome of autism. They may also appear in varying degrees as well as combination in children with other disorders. 

Here are the symptoms of Autism:

Autistic Aloneness

• Lack of visual and auditory response to people
• Preference for objects to people
• Failure to communicate with speech
• Failure to develop feelings for others

Security in Sameness

• Extreme sensitivity to environmental order and change
• Resistance to changes in food, dress and bedtime routine
• Ordering of objects
• Stereotypic and ritualistic motor behaviour
• Fascination and facility with objects

Echoes and Metaphors

• Immediate and delayed echolalia
• Reversal of pronouns
• Literalness and part-whole confusion
• Later language development

Islets of Brightness

• Physical appearance and early development
• Special motor and visual-spatial skills
• Rote memory skills
• Special reading skills
• Specific musical talents