Population-based studies have found that, in addition to the individuals with ASD, many others exhibit subthreshold autistic or autisticlike traits (ALTs), that is, problems or peculiarities in sociocommunicative behavior, perception of others and self, and adaptation to the environment that do not meet formal criteria ...
Williams Syndrome (also known as Williams-Beuren syndrome) is a rare genetics disorder in which a portion of DNA material on chromosome 7 is missing. The prevalence in the population is somewhere between 1 out of 10,000. Many people with Williams Syndrome exhibit autistic behaviors.
Kanner's Syndrome
This type of autism is also known as Classic Autistic Disorder, and its symptoms can include challenges communicating or understanding others, engaging in virtually no eye contact, and a hypersensitivity to stimuli (smell, light, noise, taste, or touch).
While Rett syndrome may not officially be an ASD in the DSM-5, the link to autism remains. Many children are diagnosed as autistic before the MECP2 mutation is identified and then the diagnosis is revised to RTT. Autistic traits do occur, especially during the regression, and sometimes these traits do persist.
Unlike Kanner who emphasized the importance of autism as a developmental condition, Asperger described behaviors that more closely resembled a personality disorder and reported that fathers of his cases showed similar problems.
Summary. Pitt-Hopkins syndrome (PTHS) is a genetic syndrome that causes developmental delays, moderate to severe intellectual disability, behavioral differences, distinctive facial features, and breathing problems such as episodes of rapid breathing (hyperventilation) and breath-holding.
Hyperlexia is often, but not always, part of the autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
For those unfamiliar, “allistic” refers to people who are not on the autism spectrum, and has become an increasingly popular term to help distinguish people from their autistic peers without using judgmental terms like “normal” in contrast to “autistic”.
It is a spectrum disorder, meaning there is a broad variation in the types and severity of symptoms. No two people with ASD have the same symptoms. Borderline autism is not an official term or diagnosis. Instead, it is an informal term referring to less severe ASD symptoms.
Level 1 is the mildest, or “highest functioning” form of autism, which includes those who would have previously been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Individuals with ASD level 1 may have difficulty understanding social cues and may struggle to form and maintain personal relationships.
It is possible to be mildly autistic. However, people who are diagnosed with autism generally have traits that interfere with their ability to lead a normal life.
Although the exact cause of autism is still unknown, there is evidence to suggest that genetics play a significant role. Since autism is less prevalent in females, autism was always thought to be passed down from the mother. However, research suggests that autism genes are usually inherited from the father.
Some adults without an autism diagnosis believe they are on the autism spectrum. Little is known about these self-diagnosed individuals. If the self-diagnosed are autistic, it is possible that they are like diagnosed adults in their reports of autism identity, stigma, and quality of life.
Many biological conditions can lead to social difficulties, including autism. However, not all autistic individuals will display social awkwardness (though they may struggle inwardly). Moreover, not everyone who is socially awkward is autistic. And, in fact, they don't necessarily have a diagnosable condition.
Characteristics of Einstein syndrome individuals include: being male, having parents or close relatives in analytic fields, having strong analytic skills, higher-educated parents, having late talking family members, having delays in social skills and potty training, and having a strong-willed temperament.
In some ways Williams syndrome is the opposite of autism. For example, people with Williams syndrome love to talk and tell stories, whereas those with autism usually have language delay and little imagination. Many people with Williams syndrome draw disjointed pictures, some with autism draw pictures in perfect detail.
As dyspraxia is less well known than autism some children may have be given an autism diagnosis and not assessed for dyspraxia. It can be so difficult to differentiate between these conditions because both autism and dyspraxia have a wide range of presentations.
Summary. Russell-Silver syndrome (RSS) is a rare disorder characterized by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), poor growth after birth, a relatively large head size, a triangular facial appearance, a prominent forehead (looking from the side of the face), body asymmetry and significant feeding difficulties.
Mowat-Wilson syndrome (MWS) is characterized by distinctive facial features (widely spaced eyes, broad eyebrows with a medial flare, low-hanging columella, prominent or pointed chin, open-mouth expression, and uplifted earlobes with a central depression), congenital heart defects with predilection for abnormalities of ...
Coffin-Lowry syndrome is caused by changes (mutations) in the RPS6KA3 gene on the X chromosome. Some individuals with Coffin-Lowry syndrome do not have a detectable mutation in the RPS6KA3 gene. Coffin-Lowry syndrome is inherited in an X-linked dominant pattern.
What does atypical autism mean? A person has atypical autism when they display some symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but not enough to fit a diagnosis. Atypical autism is another term for pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).
The Triad of Impairments:
People with significant difficulties in all 3 areas (social interaction, communication and imagination) may have ASD. However, there can be other reasons for difficulties in these areas.
Autism is very distinct from ADHD, but the core symptoms of ADHD-Combined type, i.e., attention deficit, impulsivity, and hyperactivity, would appear to also be features of autism. ASD and ADHD are neurobiological disorders characterized by similar underlying neuropsychological “deficits”.