Welcome!

This month, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is being introduced as a specific topic area addressed through Ask-A-Specialist. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to respond to your questions.

Did you know that if you enter the word ‘autism’ in an Internet search engine you would obtain 7,290,000 hits? There are many shows on television, newspaper and magazine articles and best selling books that are dedicated to the topic of autism. There is so much information!

When you submit a question to Ask-A-Specialist, you can be certain that the answer provided will be individualized and based on research. l recommend the following two websites as reliable sources of information about ASD:

National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH):
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/autismmenu.cfm

National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD):
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/asd.cfm

Please write. I look forward to hearing from you!
Ann

Question:

What is autism? What is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?

Answer:

The National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) does a good job of defining autism. “ Autism is a complex developmental disability that causes problems with social interaction and communication.  Symptoms usually start before age three and can cause delays or problems in many different skills that develop from infancy to adulthood.

Different people with autism can have very different symptoms.  Health care providers think of autism as a “spectrum” disorder, a group of disorders with similar features.  One person may have mild symptoms, while another may have serious symptoms.  But they both have an autism spectrum disorder.”

Currently, the autism spectrum disorder category includes:

• Autistic Disorder
• Asperger Disorder
• Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

In some cases, health care providers use a broader term, pervasive developmental disorder, to describe autism.  This category includes the autism spectrum disorders above, plus Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Rett’s Disorder.”

The Ask-A-Specialist web site uses “autism spectrum disorder” and “autism” to mean the same thing.