preview

Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders

Better Essays

Diagnostic Autism Spectrum Disorders in Infants and Children
Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopment disorder that affects people as young as infancy that can become more evident throughout their childhood. The word Spectrum refers to a wide range of disorders that are closely related through similar symptoms, as it will be explained later in this paper. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders also known as the DSM-5 diagnostic manual, updated the types of disorders listed as: Autistic Disorder, Rett 's Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder also known as PDD-NOS. These types of Autistic disorders have affected over 3 million individuals in the U.S and …show more content…

While infants are still discovering most of their sensors, touch is important because “ higher levels of touch between parent and infant (e.g., skin-to-skin contact, affectionate touch, tactile game play) have been linked to secure attachment relationships, more positive social responses in infants, and positive, reciprocal parent–infant interactions..” (577). Interactions between parent and infants through touch are important to visualize whether the infant is responding to reflexes, or involuntary movements. For example, when a child is touched on the cheek, most likely the baby will respond by turning their heads toward the direction of the hand. Abnormal touch and unresponsive reflexes can link to autism symptoms in children such as unresponsive to sensory stimuli. Tactile games such as holding a toy above them can monitor whether the baby is responding back or distracted and is unable to focus. Autism Speaks, describes research done on their article, “ Eye Contact Declines Early in Babies Who Later Develop Autism” by explaining that babies are placed in front of a monitor that shows their mother speaking to them and showing their fingers and other movements to get the babies full attention. On the other side researchers are visualizing and monitoring the baby 's eyes and direction. Researchers state that, “ Such an early decline in eye

Get Access