Which of the following is not true about the autistic specific disorder
Core symptoms of Autism are 1. Persistent deficts in social communication and interaction, 2. Restricted, repititive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities, 3. Associated physical characteristics. Associated behavioural symptoms include- Disturbance in language development and usage, Intellectual disability, Irritability, Instability of mood and affect, Response to sensory stimuli, Hyperactivity and Inattetnion, Precocious skills, Insomnia, Minor infections and GI symptoms. Marked impairment in reciprocal social and interpersonal interaction:i. Absent social smile.ii. Lack of eye-to-eye-contact.iii. Lack of awareness of others existence or feelings; treats people as furniture.iv. Lack of attachment to parents and absence of separation anxiety.v. No or abnormal social play; prefers solitary games.vi. Marked impairment in making friends.vii. Lack of imitative behaviour.viii. An absence of fear in presence of danger.2. Marked impairment in language and non-verbal communicationi. Lack of verbal or facial response to sounds or voices; might be thought as deaf initially.ii. In infancy, an absence of communicative sounds like babbling.iii. Absent or delayed speech (about half of autistic children never develop useful speech).iv. Abnormal speech patterns and content. Presence of echolalia, perseveration, poor aiculation and pronominal reversal (I-You) is common.v. Rote memory is usually good.vi. Abstract thinking is impaired.3. Abnormal behavioural characteristicsi. Mannerisms.ii. Stereotyped behaviours such as head-banging, body-spinning, hand-flicking, lining-up objects, rocking, clapping, twirling, etc.iii. Ritualistic and compulsive behaviour.iv. Resistance to even the slightest change in the environment.v. The attachment may develop to inanimate objects.vi. Hyperkinesis is commonly associated.4. Mental retardation Only about 25% of all children with autism have an IQ of more than 70.5. Other featuresi. Many children with autism paicularly enjoy music.ii. In spite of the pervasive impairment of functions, ceain islets of precocity or splinter functions may remain (called as Idiot savant syndrome). Examples of such splinter functions are prodigious rote memory or calculating ability, and musical abilities.iii. Epilepsy is common in children with an IQ of less than 50. Ref: A Sho Textbook of Psychiatry, Niraj Ahuja, 7th Edition, pg. no.164
Impaired communication
Impaired imagination
Language developmental delay
Vision problems
Child psychiatry