Can an autistic child's symptoms worsen with age?

Question

Hi doctor,

My son is two and a half years old. He was diagnosed with autism when he was one year and eight months old. He got improved now and it is amazing to us. He is talking words, he loves to play, he asks us to play with him, he loves us a lot and he understands what we ask to him. He is interacting with us when he watches television. Now I started to have fear when he started to look at the table intensely. But we distract him easily and he seems to have a lack of eye contact. We do not know whether it is due to autism or because he does not see well. He was born with strabismus and he had surgery for this problem. Now, we have to do another surgery next year. Can you tell me whether autism becomes worst in time?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I want to tell you briefly about autistic spectrum disorder. It is a pervasive developmental disorder and it needs a life long diagnosis and a fluctuating course. It will recur any time in life and mainly you need to focus on communication skills. Autistic children are highly heterogeneous in nature and have a genetic cause. Sometimes, they are overstimulated, and sometimes they are understimulated. They have repetitive, recurrent, and stereotyped behavior. The stereotyped behavior means that doing a purposeless repetitive activity with to and fro rocking movements and clapping. The prognosis is poor but it is necessary to improve communication skills, social skill training, and parent training approach. Please say about the siblings of your child.