Q.1	What is wrong with my child? Why is she not developing like other children?
A.	Brain controls our entire body functioning. If the brain is damaged it may manifest as developmental delay, mental retardation, poor learning and performance. Your child's problem may be one of the above. Hence the child is different in development and learning.
Q.2	How early can one identify and tell that the child is mentally retarded?
A.	Early detection depends upon the severity and the nature of mental retardation: Many genetic abnormalities can be identified before birth and immediately after birth. Some of the ways to identify are through amniocentesis,  sonography, fetoscopy, blood and urine screening tests and imaging techniques. Some conditions like Down's syndrome, microcephaly (small head) hydrocephalous/ obvious congenital anomalies can be identified at birth with presenting features. After birth if the growth and developmental milestones are delayed and there is presence of neurological signs and symptoms, identification of development delay can be suspected with in one year of age.
Q.3	Are there any drugs that can cure mental retardation?
A.	There is no cure for mental retardation with drugs. Mental retardation is a condition where the damage caused to the brain is permanent. No drugs have been found to repair the damage caused to the brain. However prevention is possible. Mental retardation caused due to thyroid deficiency can be prevented by medical treatment if identified very early and treated. In the case of hydrocephalus, surgical intervention can reduce the pressure in the brain by using a shunt. Treatment is available for associated condition like fits.
Q.4	How early can a parent seek early intervention when their baby is found to be developmentally delayed?
A.	As soon as it is recognized that the young child is developmentally delayed, prompt treatment and intervention will help the child to reach his optimal level of development. The first 24 months of a normal child's life involve tremendous and rapid growth and development. Hence, the earlier the parent seeks early intervention services the better it is for the child's development.
Q.5	Whether my child will become all right?
A.	Mental retardation is not a disease. It is a condition caused by damage to the brain and cannot be cured by medicines. However, a child with mental retardation can be helped to learn skills and progress in many ways by training depending on the severity of retardation.
Q.6	Whether my child can walk, talk like other children?
A.	Children with mental retardation do learn to walk, understand and speak to a large extent. However, how far and how quickly they learn depends on the extent of the brain damage and early identification and timely intervention.
Q.7	What is Autism?
A.	This is by far the most frequently asked question. Briefly, it is a life long developmental disorder that typically occurs in the first three years of life. It causes impairment or disturbance in 3 main areas-Social skills, communicative skills (verbal as well as non-verbal) and in thinking. Any one or more of the senses may be affected. All these difficulties manifest themselves in different behaviours i.e. autistic persons have different ways of relenting to people, objects and events in the environment.
Q.8	How is it different from mental retardation?
A.	A. When a person has mental retardation there is a more or less even impairment in skills in all areas of development. Therefore, if a mentally retarded child of 8 years has a mental age of 5 then all his skills would be roughly around 5 years (i.e) motor, communication, social, self-help, cognition etc.). In Autism, there is an uneven skill development - in fact this is the hallmark of autism. In some areas, the child may show age-appropriate skills; in some, the skills may be below the developmental level; and then again there are people with Autism who possess exceptional skills which are beyond their age level.
Q.9	What causes Autism ?
A.	At this point in time we do not know what causes Autism. However, current research indicates that anything that can produce structural or functional damage to the central nervous system can also produce the condition of Autism. We know that certain viruses and known genetic conditions are associated with Autism. In addition, there are families that have more than one child with autism. At present, it is believed that about 10% of all cases can be accounted for genetically. It is difficult to tell parents why their child has autism.
Q.10	Can the child ever live an independent life?
A.	Autism is a spectrum disorder. Currently there is no reliable and objective measure of how severe the Autism is in an individual child. Children with Autism do have potential for building up their skills and they can be helped if they receive early, well focussed intervention they receive, children with Autism can lead relatively independent lives.
Q.11	Is there a Cure?
A.	At this point we do not know what causes Autism and so cannot fix (cure) what is wrong in the child's brain. Many therapies (medications, diets, etc) are being tried but nothing is proven. The only thing that is found to help in all cases is an appropriate training program that is very specific to the child's needs. It is a life long condition but with appropriate intervention (training methods) the child can progress to his fullest potential.
Q.12	What are the chances of her going to a regular school?
A.	There are a number of autistic children who have integrated into regular schools. The chances depend on several factors. The most important is - "what is the skill profile, how early was the diagosis made and thereafter what kind of early intervention was provided?'' Most children with Autism have differnt learning styles from regular children and therefore teaching styles also need to be different. In some schools this is not understood and therefore children with Autism face difficulties; after Grade 4 or Grade 5 many have to drop out.
Q.13	Will my child ever speak, if so, when?
A.	A large number of autistic children (about 30-50%) do not use speech. It is very difficult to say when and whether the child will ever speak. It is confirmed that their is no difficulty in their oral mechanism that prevents them from speaking. Some who may have spoken as infants and have subsequently lost their speech, may or may not get their speech back. They do not speak for reasons as yet unclear. Experience with children with autism has shown that if the environment is accepting, and people are aware of the kind of speech they themselves need to use with the child, it can produce positive results.
Q.14	Can speech therapy help?
A.	Speech Therapy can help some children. It is absolutely essential for the speech therapist to understood Autism ingeneral and also the individual child. Otherwise, the conventional methods of speech therapy do not help children with Autism. However, every child with Autism can benefit from communication therapy.
Q.15	Why is he hyperactive?
A.	Hyperactivity can have a medical reason. However, most children with Autism are restless because of an impaiment in their imaginative and social skills. They cannot play with their toys and other children meaningfully and find it very difficult to occupy themselves. Often they eat a lot to keep themselves occupied. Eating junk food (chips, chocolates and aerated soft drinks with preservatives) can also increase hyperactivity can be reduced as the children are taught new skills and ways to keep themselves occupied.
Q.16	Are people with Autism also mentally retarded ?
A.	It is very difficult for people with autism to take an IQ test because they may have certain skills but are not able to use them in a test. About 50% of people with autism are also mentally retarded, in the same way that people with Cerebral Palsy can have mental retardation. Autism can occur in association with other difficulties like Cerebral Palsy, Dyslexia, Downs Syndrome, Visual Impairment, Hearing Impairment and seizure Disorder.