What is Autism?

Autism, autism spectrum disorder, austim society

There are certain children, and even adults, who are experiencing or seeing their environment, and the whole world for that matter, quite differently from what most normal children do. These children find it hard to talk to people and have great difficulty in expressing themselves in words. Such children suffer a severe developmental disorder, which is called Autism and this usually begins or manifested from birth and the first two and a half years of a child’s life. These children react to the world around them in unusual ways and would have difficulty linking several words with what they mean.

There are several types of developmental disorders, which forms a group called autism spectrum disorder or ASD. Autism is the most common among this group and exhibits the most extreme of these disorders. Some cases which are less severe in nature can be categorized as Asperger’s Syndrome or Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD). Other ASDs include Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder. Cases of autism spectrum disorder are not rare, and in fact statistics show that from a thousand children, three to six will most likely have autism.

Ongoing Developments in Autism Research

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Several developments in autism research in recent years have improved much on how doctors diagnose suspected children with ASD, Aspergers syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder. These methods are widely used in the research, diagnosis and treatments of autistic disorders and have contributed much in improving early detection so educational and behavioral interventions can be accorded at the earliest possible time.

Experts believe that recovery from symptoms of ASD, pervasive developmental disorder, Aspergers syndrome, and other similar autism disorders are more likely to occur if intervention is performed at the earliest possible time after the disorder has been diagnosed.

Management and Autism Therapy

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Despite numerous studies conducted on autism disorders, no known cure has yet been established. What parents can do to cope with the situation is to conduct autism therapy and management activities.

There are several studies made as to what primary intervention should be introduced. These studies encountered problems in methodology so no definite conclusions were established as to what treatment is best or what is more efficient. Although some of these interventions have positive results, there is still insufficient evidence to determine which method would work best. It did establish however, that no single treatment would work best and management and autism therapy should be tailored to the needs of the child and the situation he is in.

Epidemiology of Autism Spectrum Disorder

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The epidemiology of autism refers to the study of possible factors and other causes that affects the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder or ASD. Figures from recent studies and researches indicate that there are one or two cases of autism for every 1000 individuals.

In these similar studies, it was also established that there are about six cased of autism spectrum disorder for every 1000 person in the United States. However, experts believe that that this prevalence data may be insufficient and actual figures may have been underestimated. This data also contains similar prevalence information for other ASD disorders, like Aspergers Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder.

These reports have indicated that cases of children with autistic disorders have increased in a very significant rate from 1996 up to 2007. It is not established though if these figures indicate an actual increase in the frequency of autistic disorders, or was just results from other factors like detection and diagnosis methods.

Diagnosis for Autism

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When doctors make a diagnosis, they are making the call based on behavior exhibited by the patient, and not on the cause of mechanism for the disorder. Autism is a kind of developmental disorder that exhibits at least six total symptoms, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as published by the American Psychiatric Association. Symptoms for Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD include:

• Qualitative deficiency in social interaction or impaired social skills
• Qualitative impairment or deficiency in verbal or non-verbal communication
• Repetitive and restricted behavior
• Learning disabilities

Doctors make use of these symptomatic characteristics and other factors like: onset before three years of age, delays or lack of social interaction, lack of effective language used for social communication, or engaging in imaginative or symbolic play. Autism should not be confused with other developmental disorders like Rett syndrome or childhood disintegrated disorder, which can also exhibit lack of social skills and learning disabilities.

Cultural and Sociological Aspects of Autism

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As autism is fully recognized in society, certain cultural and sociological aspects come into light. Some of these aspects are in support of the therapies and services focused in ASD and similar disorders. Other sociological aspects focus on how the society defines what an autistic person is, which triggered the autism rights movement that is based on the stand that ASD is another way of being and should not be relegated as a disorder that needs cure.

* Terminologies Used as Related to Autistic Spectrum Disorders

Modern jargon and terminologies come into light as autistic disorders are recognized by communities and societies. Some people in the autistic community prefer to refer to themselves as “person with autism”, while some prefer the term “autistic person” or simply “autistic” when referring to themselves in formal English. Colloquial terms are also came into existence and accepted in the autistic community and are used to refer fondly and not in a derogative way to people with autistic spectrum disorder, Aspergers syndrome, Pervasive Development Disorder and similar disorders. These terms include:

Comprehensive Evaluation for Autism

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Diagnosing a child for autism at the earliest possible stage is important so proper intervention can be accorded and proper management by parents and pediatricians established. However, making a comprehensive assessment and diagnosis of a child suspected with autistic spectrum disorders or ASD is faced with major challenges. These include the following:

• How to determine the overall level of function, or dysfunction, of a child suspected with ASD
• Making a diagnosis that can categorize what type of disorder does the child have, and determine whether the child has classical autism, Aspergers syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder.
• What extent shall be exerted to determine the cause or etiology of the specific disorder that the child has

Classification of Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Autism spectrum disorder or commonly called by its abbreviation ASD is a spectrum or group of psychological conditions that are characterized by abnormalities or deficiencies in social interaction or communication. These disorders are also characterized by repetitive behavior or a restricted interest or focus on an object or item. ASD is sometimes called autism spectrum condition of ASC, and oftentimes the word autism is replaced by the term autistic.

The forms of the autism spectrum disorder include Autism (which refers to the classic autistic disorder), Rhett’s Syndrome and Asperger’s Syndrome as the main forms of ASD. In a 2005 study, PDD-NOS accounts for most of the 6.0 to 6.5 per 1000 cases of ASD. Classical autism was listed as 1.3 per 1000 cases and Asperger’s Syndrome accounting for 0.3 per 1000. Other forms and classification of autism spectrum disorder includes Rett syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. However, these forms are not common unlike the main forms.

Changes of Autism over Time

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Although there are still no known cures for autism, treatments done on several autistic children have resulted in improvements in their symptoms and behavior. There are several cases of autistic children with deficiencies in social skills and have learning disabilities who eventually grow up and have normal or almost normal lives after a series of continuous treatments.

Research have shown that children with problems in communication and social skills, as well as learning disabilities and have regressed before the age of 3 are more susceptible of developing epilepsy and other brain activities that are seizure-like. When these children reach adolescence age, they will experience significant behavioral problems as well as bouts of depression. It is for these reasons why parents of these autistic children are urged to hold steadfast on their children’s management and therapy sessions, and if necessary adjust treatments for their child over time according to progress.

Autism Causes and Etiology

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Scientists are still uncertain and have not finalized what are autism causes. However, certain studies performed showed that genetics and the environment may be the most like causes for the three main characteristic symptoms of autism. These studies are preliminary and would require extensive and much further investigation. The theory on autism causes is still incomplete, but scientist and researchers indicate that autism may not be due to a single reason but may be a result of a complex disorder resulting from separate and distinct causes.

There were earlier theories that autism where caused by certain practices by parents but these has just been recently disproved. In a similar manner, the link between the use of early childhood vaccines and autism has been disproved in a special federal court ruling in February 2009 involving three autistic children.