ASD Level 1 – Level 1 ASD is currently the lowest classification. Those on this level will require some support to help with issues like inhibited social interaction and lack of organization and planning skills.
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.
Severe autism, diagnosed as level 3, causes debilitating symptoms. Someone with level 3 autism may be non-verbal and be unable to engage with people.
There are other brain disorders that mimic autism symptoms, like ADHD and anxiety disorders, including selective mutism. Autism can be misdiagnosed as another disorder with some shared symptoms.
Conditions That Can Be Mistaken for Autism. These include: Speech delays, hearing problems, or other developmental delays: Developmental delays are when your child doesn't do things doctors expect kids their age to be able to do. These can include language, speech, or hearing problems.
Level 1 ASD is the mildest form of autism. Children with level 1 ASD have a hard time communicating appropriately with others. For example, they may not say the right thing at the right time or be able to read social cues and body language.
Someone who is considered a savant may be especially skilled in art, math, music, memory recall, or another subject. Savant syndrome is commonly associated with autism but can occur alongside other conditions.
However, within the field of rare disease ASD is closely linked with several neurodevelopmental rare diseases such as PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome (PHTS), Fragile X, RETT Syndrome, Phelan McDermid Syndrome, ADNP and many others.
One of the biggest misconceptions about autism is that people with this disorder cannot lead "normal" lives. However, this is far from the truth. While people with autism may face certain challenges, they are just as capable of achieving their goals and dreams as anyone else.
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”.
While there is a genetic component to autism, the risk of having an autistic child is not significantly higher for parents who are themselves on the autism spectrum. Research has shown that the vast majority of autistic children are born to parents who do not have autism.
Girls with autism tend to have more mutations than boys with the condition. And boys with autism seem to inherit their mutations from unaffected mothers more often than from unaffected fathers. Together, these results suggest that girls need a bigger genetic hit than boys to have autism.
Children and adults with autism spectrum disorder often care deeply but struggle to spontaneously develop empathic and socially connected typical behavior. Individuals with ASD often want to interact socially but lack the ability to spontaneously develop effective social interaction skills.
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.
The intelligence levels of autistic people, in general, are highly polarized, with many autistic people scoring average to above-average; compared to the general public, more autistic people score in the gifted range (140+ IQ).
Nikolas Tesla - Tesla was another genius who displayed characteristics of autism, having several extreme phobias, severe sensitivity to light and sound, and an obsession with the number 3. His work also created the modern world as we know it, hugely creative and inventive.
About 70% of autistic people have an intellectual disability, which means they have an IQ lower than 70. The remaining 30% have intelligence that ranges from average to gifted. Autism and intelligence are two separate characteristics. A person can be autistic with any level of intelligence.
If you still hear people use some of the older terms, you'll want to know what they mean: Asperger's syndrome. This is on the milder end of the autism spectrum.
Passive children are much less likely than others in the autism spectrum to be difficult in behavior, to refuse to cooperate, or to have temper tantrums so do not draw attention to themselves (but see description of PDA below).
There are three major areas of undiagnosed autism in adults. Those include social interactions, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive or ritualistic behaviors.
Children who experience trauma when they are young may display autism-like behaviours that fit the timeline for an ASD diagnosis, which tends to occur around early school-age. In the absence of trauma-informed assessment, autism can sometimes be the default diagnosis.
Early signs of autism can be detected in babies by playing peek-a-boo, research has shown. If their brains respond less than they should to the stimulating game they are more likely to be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as toddlers.
1 in 100 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as of 2021. Autism prevalence has increased 178% since 2000. The country with the highest rate of diagnosed autism in the world is Qatar, and the country with the lowest rate is France.