Five Things People May Not Know About Autism

        People talk much about autism on the internet, but have you heard of the following.

1. The Three Levels of Autism. Starting with the DSM V, Asperger's Syndrome, PDD-NOS, and classical autism were categorized into autism levels 1-3 (Howell, n.d.)
1. Autism Level 1. People with level 1, a milder form of autism, may
1. Problems starting conversations
2. Trouble maintaining conversations
3. Difficulty transitioning to other tasks
4. Struggles making friends
2. Autism Level 2. People with level 2, a more pervasive form of autism, may
1. Have significant communication problems
2. Talk in simple sentences
3. Have a narrow sphere of interests
4. "Struggle with change (Howell, n.d.)"
3. Autism Level 3. The most severe kind involves
1. Speaks only two or three words at a time
2. Rarely engages in social interaction
3. Rigid behavior
4. Distinctive repetitive behaviors
2. Autistic Agitation (Elsevier, 2012). Commonly referred to as a meltdown (Lipsky, 2011), agitation occurs when the stress load reaches capacity and the autistic can no longer control himself. He releases that pent up stress
3. Autistic Catatonia (Wing & Shah, 2004). Autistic Catatonia is a rare condition that autistics can get that includes
1. Slowness of movement and speech
2. Difficulting initiating or completing actions
3. Increase passivity
4. Reliance on prompting by others
4.  Epilepsy (Medi Matters, 2021). Although epilepsy is a separate condition, research shows a link between epilepsy and autism. 
5. Intellectual Disability (Menezes, 2021). Again, a different condition, but a small number of autistic people have intellectual disabilities. Anyone below 70 has an intellectual disability.

Do you have autism? Do you need help? Please contact us at (520) 314-6896

References

Elsevier. (2012, May 31). New treatment for irritability in autism.             ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 23, 2022, from                                www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120531102107.htm

Lipsky, D. (2011). From Anxiety to Meltdown [E-book]. Jessica           Kinsey Publishers.

Medi Matters: Link Between Epilepsy and Autism. (2021, December 28). The Indian Practitioner, NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A688183667/HWRC?

u=uphoenix&sid=ebsco&xid=8c6315c1

Menezes, M., Robinson, M. F., Harkins, C., Sadikova, E., & Mazurek,     M. O. (2021). Unmet Health Care Needs and Health Care Quality in     Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder with and without Intellectual Disability. Autism, 25(8), 2199–2208.https://doi.org/ 10.1177/ 13623613211014721

Wing, L., & Shah, A. (2004). Catatonia in Autism Spectrum Disorders.     British Journal of Psychiatry, 176(4), 357–362.