Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, and restricted/repetitive behaviors. The effects of ASD and the severity of symptoms are different in each person. Warning signs for autism spectrum disorder in young children include not responding to his/her name by 12 months of age, not pointing at objects to show interest by 14 months, not engaging in role play games by 18 months, avoiding eye contact or preferring to be alone,getting upset by minor changes, flapping their hands, rocking their body or spinning in circles or having unusual and sometimes intense reactions to the way things smell, taste, feel and/or look. Autism differs from person to person in severity and combinations of symptoms. There is a great range of abilities and characteristics of people with autism spectrum disorder; no two children appear or behave the same way. Symptoms can range from mild to severe and often change over time.
Behavioral disorders involve a pattern of disruptive behaviors in children that last for at least 6 months and cause problems in school, at home, and in social situations.
A persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development. DSM-V criteria.
If you have any of these problems, check out the following services:
Neurotherapy & Biofeedback Services
Pediatric Occupational Therapy
A repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate societal norms or rules are violated, as manifested by the presence of aggression to people and animals, destruction of property, deceitfulness or theft, or other serious violations of rules.
A pattern of angry/irritable mood, argumentative/defiant behavior, or vindictiveness lasting at least 6 months. The disturbance in behavior is associated with distress in the individual or others in his or her immediate social context (e.g., family, peer group, work colleagues), or it impacts negatively on social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. DSM-V criteria...
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects can include physical problems and problems with behavior and learning. Often, a person with an FASD has a mix of these problems.
People with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome have central nervous system (CNS) problems, minor facial features, and growth problems. FAS can cause problems with learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, or hearing. People with FAS often have a hard time in school and trouble getting along with others.
A learning disorder is an information-processing issue that prevents a person from learning a skill and using it effectively. Learning disorders generally affect people of average or above-average intelligence. As a result, the disorder appears as a gap between expected skills, based on age and intelligence, and academic performance. Common learning disorders affect a child's abilities in reading, written expression, math, or nonverbal skills.
A learning disorder that affects reading is usually based on difficulty perceiving a spoken word as a combination of distinct sounds. This can make it hard to understand how a letter or letters represent a sound and how letter combinations make a word. Dyscalculia: A learning disorder that affects an individual's ability to learn number-related concepts, perform accurate math calculations, reason, problem-solve, and perform other basic math skills. Dysgraphia: Dysgraphia is a learning disorder that affects written expression which includes impairment of writing ability and fine motor skills. It is a learning disability that affects children and adults and interferes with practically all aspects of the writing process, including spelling, legibility, word spacing and sizing, and expression.
A child with a learning disorder in nonverbal skills appears to develop good basic language skills and strong memorization skills early in childhood. Difficulties are present in visual-spatial skills, visual-motor skills, and other skills necessary in social or academic functioning. Someone with a learning disorder in nonverbal skills may have trouble with Interpreting facial expressions and nonverbal cues in social interactions, using language appropriately in social situations, physical coordination, fine motor skills, attention, planning, and organizing.
Speech is how we say sounds and words. People with speech problems may: not say sounds clearly, have a hoarse or raspy voice, repeat sounds or pause when speaking, called stuttering. Language is the words we use to share ideas and get what we want. A person with a language disorder may have problems with understanding, talking, reading, or writing.
Apraxia is a motor speech disorder that makes it hard to speak. It can take a lot of work through speech therapy to learn to say sounds and words better. In order for speech to occur, messages need to go from your brain to your mouth. These messages tell the muscles how and when to move to make sounds. When a child has apraxia of speech, the messages do not get through correctly. The child might not be able to move their lips or tongue in the right ways, even though their muscles are not weak. Sometimes, the child might not be able to say much at all.
Through articulation and phonology sound is produced. A child with an articulation disorder has problems forming speech sounds properly. A child with a phonological disorder can produce the sounds correctly but may use them in the wrong place. As a child grows up they develop speech sounds in a predictable order. It is normal for young children to make speech errors as their language develops; however, children with articulation or phonological disorder will be harder to understand and differ from their peers that are already speaking clearly.
Language disorders are a type of communication disorder where there is trouble with using and understanding spoken language. These disorders impact how people use and process language. The three kinds of language disorders are:
- Expressive language disorder: When someone has trouble getting their message across when they talk, struggling to put words together into sentences that make sense.
- Receptive language disorder: When someone struggles to get the meaning of what others are saying, often responding in ways that do not make sense.
- Mixed receptive-expressive language issues: When someone struggles with both using and understanding language.
Stuttering is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the person who stutters is unable to produce sounds.
