( Everyday Life with Autism )

There are three other conditions/diseases that may overlap with autism. Your child has been diagnosed with autism, but beware of other symptoms that may hide under the ASD ambrella. Epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome, and Mitocondrial Disease. The good new is that treatments administered to cure these conditions can also benefit your child with autism.

1-Is your child exhibiting some behavioral symptoms that are common with epilepsy, like:

• sudden change in behavior
• staring
• enlarged pupils
• unprovoked temper tantrums
• hallucinations
• self-injurious behavior
• eye blinking
• tongue clicking

2- Is your child exhibiting some of the Tourette Syndrome symptoms?

• symptoms have started before 18
• she/he has not gone tic-free more than 3 months
• tics can be physical (blinking, shrugging, staring, biting, throwing, touching, obscene gesturing)
• verbal tics (coughing, sniffing, barking, repeating a phrase over and over, cursing, aggressive words)
• your child may demostrate a combination of both physical and verbal tics

3- Is your child exhibiting symptoms of Mitochondrial Disease?

• fatigue
• muscle pain and weakness
• autoimmune problems
• gastrointestinal disorders
• seizures
• diabetes
• inability to tolerate changes in heat
• learning disabilities

The website below will tell you about the side effects of medicines:

http://druginfo.nlm.nih.gov

The cause of autism has not been identified yet. Talk to your child’s doctor if you suspect an overlapping condition with autism.

Source: Autism Asperger’s Digest, issue Nov/Dec 2013, pages 19-21, by Elizabeth Irish

nadia shanab

Tags: asperger's syndrome, autism, diagnosis, early intervention, epilepsy, health, Mitchondrial disease, parenting, research, symptoms of autism, tips, Tourette Syndrome