Conditions Occurring in Autism
Other Complications in Autism Spectrum Disorder Individuals
Many medical complications occur in individuals within the autism spectrum. Many of these conditions can be serious and require the attention of medical specialists,
Some Problems that Frequently Occur in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders:
Autism and Seizures
Approximately one in four individuals with autism begin to have seizures during puberty. The exact reason for this is unknown but it is likely that the seizure activity may have to do with hormonal changes in the body.
Sometimes these are noticeable seizures associated with convulsions, but many times, they are small seizures that are not detected by simple observation. Some possible signs of these subclinical seizures include the following:
- Behavior problems, such as aggression, self-injury, and severe tantrums
- Making little or no academic gains after doing well during childhood and pre-teen years, and /or losing some behavioral and/or cognitive gains
While the majority of autistic individuals do not have seizures during puberty, parents need to be aware of the fact that 25% of autistic teens may experience clinical or subclinical seizures. If left untreated, seizures can lead to harmful results.
Chronic Constipation and/or Diarrhea and other 'Gut Problems'
Over 50% of autistic spectrum children have chronic constipation and/or diarrhea. The diarrhea may actually be due to the constipation--only liquid is able to leak past a constipated stool mass in the bowel. Consultation with a pediatric gastroenterologist is necessary. Also, 'gut problems' are seen in 90% of autism spectrum individuals. Food allergies seen in 36%, 'leaky gut' is seen in 43% and a high incidence of GI reflux is also seen in ASD.
Sleep Problems
Many individuals with autism spectrum disorder have sleep problems. Sleep disturbances are not part of the diagnostic criteria for autism but they seem to go hand in hand with autism. Researches estimate that between 56% and 83% of children with autism spectrum disorders experience sleep disturbances, including refusal to go to bed, getting out of bed, tantrums at bedtime, early waking, requiring a parent to sleep with the child, hyperactivity at night etc.
Loss of Muscle Tone
30% of children with autism have moderate to severe loss of muscle tone which can limit the gross and fine motor skills. Studies have also shown these individuals tend to have low levels of potassium.
Sensory Sensitivities
It is very common for autistic spectrum individuals to have unusually high sensitivities to sounds, sights, touch, taste and smells. Many high-pitched sounds may be painful to autistic children. Scratchy, stiff fabrics may be intolerable and visual sensitivities to flickering fluorescent lights are a problem in many. Many children have tantrums in large department stores, malls etc. due to sensory overload in these crowded places. Sensory issues are highly variable in autism spectrum disorders. It is likely that many individuals who remain non-verbal have both auditory and visual processing problems and sensory input may be scrambled. A hearing test may imply normal hearing even in children who have difficulty hearing auditory details and hard consonant sounds.
Altered Pain Threshold
Some children on the autism spectrum have very high pain thresholds (insensitive to pain) while others have very low pain thresholds. This is thought to be related to serotoninemia (serotonin) levels in individuals with autism.
