What is Autism and the spectrum of this disability?
Autism is a developmental disorder whose symptoms appear in the first two years of a child’s life. This disorder is associated with an alteration of communication and behavior, which does not correlate with what is termed to be normal. Autism is considered a spectrum disorder since it has varied manifestations in terms of the severity of the symptoms as well as types. In particular, autism spectrum disorder includes autism, a condition that was previously considered separate, childhood disintegrative disorder, pervasive development disorder (PDD-NOS) and Asperger's syndrome.
Asperger's syndrome is on the milder end of the spectrum since people suffering from this condition are intelligent and capable of handling their daily lives, although they may have strained social lives. On the other hand, the pervasive developmental disorder is considered to be more severe as compared to Asperger's syndrome, but milder as compared to autistic disorder (Cooper, Loades, & Russell, 2018). Finally, childhood disintegrative disorder is the most severe and rarest parts of the autism spectrum disorder. The affected children develop normally but then lose on their language, social and mental skills between two to four years.
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What are possible causes, signs, and symptoms of this disability?
There is a general agreement that there is not a single known cause for autism as various factors that combine to cause autism spectrum disorder. However, genetics are considered to play a significant role in determining whether a child will be autistic or not. In particular fragile X syndrome or Rett Syndrome is highly associated with an autistic spectrum disorder. Additionally, children with mutated genes or genetic changes are likely to become autistic. Furthermore, there are other spontaneous or inherited genes, which affect how brain cells communicate or brain development. Apart from genetic factors, the environment plays a crucial role in determining whether a child will be autistic or not. Naturally occurring pathogens in the environment are capable of causing autistic tendencies. According to (Amaral, 2017) pregnant women who suffer from German measles are likely to transmit the same to their unborn children who then turn out to be autistic. Moreover, some drugs that are used during pregnancy, as well as hostile and incompatible maternal antibodies, may increase the likelihood of autism.
Autistic children display several symptoms, which are related to communication, language, and social patterns. Specifically, autistic people fail to respond to their names, resist cuddling, and instead prefer to retreat to their own world. Moreover, autistic children lack facial expression eye contact, delayed speech, and are not in a position to initiate or maintain a conversation (Gialloreti, & Curatolo, 2018). Additionally, they tend to speak in abnormal rhythms and tones where they repeat words verbatim, as they do not know how to use the words. Apart from the communication problems, these children tend to stick to routines and repetitive actions and are disturbed when the routines change. Finally, such children display uncoordinated motor movements, which result in clumsiness, stiff, exaggerated, and odd body language.
How is Autism diagnosed and what treatments and therapies are currently available?
ASD diagnosis is based on a person's development and behaviors. For young children, the diagnosis is a two-stage process with stage one involving well-child checkups. The pediatrician screens for developmental delays, which may predicate autism at their 18 and 24-month visits. The pediatrician checks on the child's history to establish whether there are risk factors that could increase the child's risk of becoming autistic (Cooper, Loades & Russell, 2018). The second stage includes evaluating the child where a team of doctors who are versed with ASD assesses the child's cognitive abilities, language abilities, and age-appropriate skills. The team may also conduct a hearing test and blood tests since ASD is quite a complex disorder.
Several treatment and therapies can be used to treat and manage autistic spectrum disorders. However, it should be noted that there is no single treatment for ASD and as such, the doctors recommend treatment and therapies depending on the severity of the condition. Medication is used to treat some symptoms to reduce irritability repetitive behavior, aggression and hyperactivity the medication should be combined with rehabilitative therapies aimed are helping the children to focus DeFilippis, & Wagner, 2016). The caregiver needs to work with a team of specialists to ensure that the treatment program is working for the best of the particular child. In this way, the child can learn life skills, social skills, and communication skills, which are necessary to lead independent lives.
Do vaccines play a role in the development of Autism?
The debate as to whether vaccines play a role in the development of autism has been ongoing. There has been extensive research to clarify this controversy and so far, there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism. For this reason, parents should ensure that their children get all the requisite vaccinations so that they are not at the risk of developing childhood diseases.
Questions on autism from the essay
Question One
When it comes to autism, what is the role of pediatricians in helping parents and caregivers to identify symptoms associated with Autistic Spectrum Disorder to enhance the seeking of intervention measures?
Question Two
Autism is associated with a change in social behaviors and communication patterns. Does it then mean that when a child changes his or her social and communication patterns, it is due to autism? Are there other reasons which may lead to a change in these behaviors?
References
Amaral, D. G. (2017). Examining the causes of autism. Cerebrum: the Dana Forum on Brain Science . Retrieved on 16 Septemeber 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5501015/
Cooper, K., Loades, M. E., & Russell, A. J. (2018). Adapting psychological therapies for autism -therapist experience, Skills, and Confidence. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 45 (2018), 43–50.
DeFilippis, M., & Wagner, K. D. (2016). Treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and adolescents. Psychopharmacology Bulletin , 46(2), 18–41.
Gialloreti, E. L., & Curatolo, P. (2018). Autism spectrum disorder: why do we know so little?. Frontiers in Neurology , 9(2018), 670.
