my doughter

do you mean autism? because that’s not a sickness… who exactly diagnosed her? and why didnt they explain to you what it meant?

Here’s a little bit of info (class notes)

All individuals with ASD’s (autism spectrum disorder) have difficulty in 3 major areas: Reciprocal Social Interaction: Reciprocal Communication / Play Restricted & Repetitive Behaviors

The symptom patterns and characteristics of autism are expressed in many different combinations and degrees of severity Three factors contribute to the spectrum nature of autism: Children with autism may possess any level of intellectual ability Children with autism vary in the severity of their language problems The behavior of children with autism changes with age and developmental level

Treatment Strategies Behavioral (Applied Behavior Analysis; ABA): Discrete Trial Teaching (Lovaas-Young Autism Project) Analysis of Verbal Behavior Pivotal Response Training Parent training Functional Assessment & Functional Communication Training

Goals of Behavioral Interventions: Focus on building adaptive skills Reducing/replacing maladaptive behaviors

Educational Interventions: Use of visual supports & environmental engineering (e.g., TEACCH) Peer-supported instruction (e.g., LEAP program)

Pharmacological—Medications are frequently prescribed: No medications to “cure”, medications target behaviors and symptoms Usage increases when child exhibits behavioral problems Stimulant medications & SSRI’s (esp. in ASD) Seizure medications Antipsychotic medications

and ofcourse wikipedia is always a simple source of info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism