Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

ASD
is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Some common red flags for people with ASD:

  • lack of eye contact
  • lack of facial expressions
  • difficulties in making friends and socialising with people
  • lack of interest in peers
  • difficulties in understanding and using gestures and/ or non-verbal behaviours
  • repetitive movements, speech, use of objects (e.g., hand flapping, lining up toys, echolalia)
  • inflexible to routine changes; may throw tantrum or become extremely upset when there’s small changes in the routine
  • limited and fixated interests that are abnormal; preoccupied with unusual object
  • hyper/hyposensitive to sensory input

Other assessments are required to exclude possibility of other physical or medical conditions before diagnosis is made. If you think you or your beloved ones have ASD, seek help.

Resource: American Psychiatric Association, 2013