If you grew up hearing the term “Asperger’s” or received that diagnosis yourself, you’ve probably noticed something strange: doctors don’t use the word anymore. Ask a pediatrician or psychologist today about Asperger’s, and most will tell you it’s simply not a diagnosis they can give. That single fact confuses a lot of families searching for…
If you’ve ever watched an autistic child line up toys for the tenth time today, or noticed a loved one’s daily routine tighten into something that looks almost painful to interrupt, you may have asked yourself: is this autism, or is this OCD? It’s a fair question, and it’s one that trips up parents, teachers,…
Three is an age of big changes. Sentences get longer, pretend play gets more elaborate, and kids start negotiating with you like tiny lawyers. So when a 3-year-old isn’t hitting those marks, it’s natural for a parent to wonder what’s going on. If you’re here, you’ve probably already noticed something. Maybe your child doesn’t answer…
Anyone who has watched a dog spin in circles, avoid eye contact, or melt down over a loud noise has probably wondered whether that pet could be autistic. It’s a natural question, especially for people who live with autism themselves or care for someone who does. But can animals have autism in the same clinical…
Autism spectrum disorder looks different in almost every person who has it, which is part of why “high functioning autism” is one of the most searched, and most misunderstood, terms connected to the condition. It’s not an official diagnostic category. You won’t find it in the DSM-5. Yet millions of parents, partners, and adults typing…
Most parents do not go looking for information on autism until something feels a little off. Maybe your baby does not turn toward their name the way a cousin’s baby did, or they seem uninterested in the back-and-forth games that other infants enjoy. Recognizing the early signs and symptoms of autism in infants is not…
If you have recently received an autism diagnosis for yourself or a child, or you are trying to make sense of a report full of clinical language, one question tends to come up right away: how many levels of autism are there? The short answer is three. Since 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of…
Level one autism is the mildest of the three severity levels used in an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. It describes people who need some support with social communication and flexibility, but who can often speak in full sentences, hold conversations, and manage daily routines with a manageable amount of outside help. Many people know this…
Many parents start searching for an autism test for teens after noticing something shift, maybe their once-easygoing child now seems overwhelmed by school, avoids group activities, or reacts strongly to noise and light that never bothered them before. Teenagers themselves sometimes start the search too, after comparing notes with friends or reading about autism online…
For years, clinicians were not permitted to diagnose ADHD and autism in the same person. If a child met criteria for autism spectrum disorder, any attention or impulsivity issues were usually folded into that diagnosis rather than assessed on their own. That changed with the DSM-5 in 2013, which removed the exclusion rule and allowed…
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