Both Autism and Dementia in Terms of Diagnosis and Treatment

Autism spectrum disorders and dementia disorders are prevalent and serious conditions. Whereas autism spectrum disorders tend to be diagnosed in childhood, dementia disorder are typically diagnosed in mature adults. Both conditions have a neurological basis, but neither disorder has a known cure. A better understanding of signs and symptoms can help individuals and family members cope with a diagnosis of either autism or dementia.

Autism spectrum disorder refers to a set of conditions, considered to be developmental disabilities, including Autistic Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome. Each of the autism spectrum disorders share some features in common, including impairments or challenges with communication and other behavioral issues. The most notable features of autism spectrum disorder include problems with communication, both verbal and nonverbal, lack of interest in social activities, delayed talking, lack of empathy with others, and fixations on items or routines.

Dementia disorder refers to a set of conditions impacting memory and cognition. The most common types of dementia disorders include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and vascular dementia. Although the symptoms for each dementia disorder differs, and symptoms vary from person to person, the condition is characterized by changes in the brain as well as behavioral signs such as memory loss, confusion, impaired judgment, sleep disturbances, and agitation or moodiness ("Types of Dementia," 2015).

The behavioral criteria for autism include assessments that rule out other conditions, and generally entail clinical observations and a set of psychological tests. Criteria include deficits in emotional reciprocity, deficits in nonverbal communication, and general relationship deficits. Some autism disorders may also be defined by criteria including repetitive behaviors, hypersensitivity, fixations, and occupational impairments (CDC, 2015).

The behavioral criteria for dementia differ from condition to condition. The most common behavioral criteria that spans the cluster of dementia disorders include memory impairment and impaired judgment. For Alzheimer's disease, the criteria include memory impairment as well as aphasia, apraxia, or agnosia ("Types of Dementia," 2015).

Incidence rates for autism is about one in every 68 children (CDC, 2015). Incidence rates for dementia varies by age and condition; about 469,000 persons aged 65 or older in the United States develops Alzheimer's disease, and the incidence rate for all dementia disorders increases with age (Alzheimer's Association, 2014).

Two options of treatment for autism include those that use a biological theoretical model and those that use a psychosocial model. Biological models rely more heavily on pharmaceutical interventions including antidepressants, antipsychotic medications, and stimulants. Psychosocial models range from humanistic approaches like interpersonal synchrony to the Floortime model, which use cognitive-behavioral techniques too to help build essential social skills (NIMH, 2015).