can’t talk, still give eye contact and
communicate that way. Individuals
with autism are very unlikely to do
that, even from such a young age.
2. Infrequent sharing of
experiences. Dr Fischer explains this
with the example of driving down a
road and seeing a bear. A child, even
if they can’t talk, might point at the
bear and turn to the person they’re
travelling with to share the experience
of seeing an animal by the side of the
road. Somebody with autism, even if
they see the bear, isn’t motivated to
share that experience with another
person.
3. Unusual repetitive behaviour
without any functional goal. A child
with autism might be lining up objects
to play, instead of playing with them.
Or repetitively waving their hands in
front of their face. They might also
have a routine in their daily life and be
very upset if that gets disrupted. This
could be something as simple as the
path you take to the supermarket or
school. If this regular path is changed,
this would significantly affect a child
with autism.
4. Restricted interests. This includes
restriction to one or two activities, but
also extends to individual tasks within
an activity. An example of this would
be repeatedly spinning a wheel on the
same car.
Dr Fischer also noted two issues
that can be found among those with
autism but aren’t always present:
a dramatic regression that is all-
encompassing; and high rates of
disruptive behaviour.
These behaviours don’t present at
a specific age for all affected children
– it can vary widely. “Depending on
the degree of impairment, how early
you can diagnose the child will vary a
lot,” says Dr Fischer. “Someone who is
mildly impaired might not really begin
to show any symptoms until they are
in a school environment with a lot
of other kids and people they aren’t
familiar with. The social demands
and the structure of the setting will
bring out problems that may not have
presented earlier.” For those children
more severely impacted, parents may
be able to identify the need to seek
some help by the age of 12 months.
“Most likely what we consider to
be autism now is actually a set of
disorders we haven’t separated from
one another yet. We just don’t have
enough information. And, as we
learn more about the genetics, the
particulars and the subgroups, we
might then be able to pick apart what
is going on with the cause a little
better,” adds Dr Fischer.
Myth-busting
Water cooler discussions about
autism are detrimental. It’s a complex
disorder and a field of study that
is dynamic and constantly being
updated. Here are some common
rumours put to bed:
Autism and vaccinations
The World Health Organisation
reports that data shows there is
no evidence of a link between the
measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
vaccine and autism spectrum
disorders. When asked about the link
between autism and vaccinations, Dr
Fischer is adamant. “It’s a very sad
story. There was a study published a
while back that linked vaccinations
to autism. Not only has that study
never been replicated but it’s also been
learned that the doctor falsified the
data. What he was reporting never
even happened. He’s since lost his
licence. A lot of children have been
sick and died because they haven’t
been vaccinated in response to this
study.”
Parental blame game
Sadly, parents of autistic children
can be subjected to some unfounded
blame and guilt by those who are ill-
informed. Dr Fischer explains, “Again,
this comes down to poor research.
Many, many years ago there was a
psychologist who blamed a mother
for being unloving which, of course, is
completely ridiculous. Now we would
see that as absurd, but in the 1940s it
wasn’t looked on that way.”
Dr Fischer clarifies, “This is largely
a genetic disorder so it’s not chosen by
anyone. There are some risk factors
that we are starting to get some
evidence for regarding playing a role
in the development of the disorder. So
for example, parental age is a factor.
Interestingly, if a child has a much
older father than the mother, that is
an additional risk factor. It’s not just
that the father is old, but if the father
is older and the mother much younger
than he, that combination increases
the risk of autism. If the mother
experiences a severe depression, that is
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