Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes neurological and developmental disorders in human beings. The disorder affects both children and adults. Diagnosis of ASD in children is done between 18 and 24 months. Parents are very important in evaluating a child to determine whether they are affected by this condition. The observation of a child by his or her parents, together with a doctor’s evaluation a child’s behavior establish the first assessment stage. There is no permanent cure for ASD. Therefore, sufferers of the disorder live with it all their lives. However, the disease is common in children. Recently, there has been an increasing number of children being diagnosed with autism. The disorder is more prevalent than it was just a few years back. To establish why the disease is widespread, we should start by retracing its origin and development. Subsequently, the cause of the disorder should be investigated. Currently, there is no known cause of ASD. There are many potential causes with which research is being conducted. For example, socioeconomic factors might be a cause of ASD. Socioeconomic factors such as healthcare delivery can cause a child to develop the disorder in a case where the baby was not born in a proper healthcare facility. The rise in the number of ASD diagnoses can also be because of the change in the method used in diagnosis. The method that was used in diagnosing ASD in the past was not accurate like the one being used nowadays. However, genetics is the most likely theory at present. Further research is required to establish the proper causes of ASD and therefore find its curative treatment and a preventive method to avoid many children suffering from it.
Causes of ASD Case Study
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a name that is used to describe neurological and developmental disorders. The word “spectrum” has been used in autism because people who have this disorder exhibit a range of symptoms and the degree to which they are affected (Lyons & Martin, 2014). Some people with this disorder manage to live normally, but others have learning challenges that require constant support from a specialist. The disorder begins in childhood and lasts throughout the life of a person. The disorder affects how a person acts, learns, communicates, and interacts with other individuals. The main difficulties that ASD causes include difficulties in social interaction and social communication, and repetitive or restricted interests and behaviors. Individuals suffering from this disorder tend to spend more time putting things in order or repeat the same sentence over and over. However, ASD is unique in that people with the condition have specific abilities and strengths. The abilities and strength exhibited include an intelligence level that is above average, the ability to remember information for a long time, ability to learn complicated topics, and they are keen auditory and visual learners (Lyons & Martin, 2014). Also, they tend to excel in sciences, music, art, and mathematics.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The number of kids who are identified with ASD has increased in the recent years. However, experts disagree with this because the guidelines used in diagnosing this condition have also recently changed (Pasco, 2010). Also, more doctors and parents are now aware of the disorder, and therefore more children are being screened, and more doctors accurately diagnose the condition. Nowadays, even adults are screened for ASD. However, we cannot neglect the fact many children have ASD. Therefore, it is crucial for us to look at the causes of the condition. If the cause is known and handled, there will be fewer children found with the disorder. The biological cause of autism raises many questions for over half a century now. The range of social and cognitive deficits that are used in diagnosing ASD are often disabling. Therefore, there is an urgency in finding treatment to ASD. There is no single cause of ASD that has been known. However, it is crucial that we look at the origin of this disorder, the symptoms, and diagnosis in children. In this way, we will understand the scope of development and issue related to autism.
The method in which ASD is being diagnosed nowadays can also be a cause of the increase in the number of children diagnosed with the disorder. Pasco (2010) states that if the increase in autism diagnoses is caused by the change in the method of diagnoses, an indication that the rise in the number of diagnoses should correlate with the change in the method used in diagnoses. In other words, changing the method through which autism was being diagnosed in the past would increase the number of people being diagnosed. In the past, autism diagnosis was not so severe because many physicians were not aware of this disorder. However, according to Schwartz & Sandall (2010), ASD diagnosis in toddlers and infants today involves a two-stage process. The first stage is the general developmental screening process that occurs during well-child checkups. As children grow, they often go for well-child checkups with a pediatrician. It is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that every child is screened for ASD between 18 and 24 months. However, a child should be screened earlier if he or she is at risk of developmental problems of ASD.
Children who are at risk are those with ASD behaviors, those who have a sibling or a family member with the disorder, and those born prematurely with a lower weight. Other risk factors include gender, where many boys are prone to be affected, being born by parents who are over 40 years old, and genetics, where a child is born with a genetic syndrome such as Down syndrome. The concerns and experiences of a parent are critical during the screening process of a child. The doctor will have to ask the parents about how the child behaves and combine this information with his observations to know if the child has the disorder. The second stage of diagnosis is meant for children who have exhibited some development problems during the first stage. The second stage is the additional evaluation stage, and it includes a team of healthcare experts who have experience with diagnosing ASD (Le Courteur et al ., 2008). Experts in this field may include developmental pediatricians, child psychologists, and speech-language pathologists. Evaluation of the child includes cognitive or thinking skills, skills that are age-appropriate and are required in completing daily activities, such as, and language abilities. ASD is complicated, and there are cases where it occurs together with other learning disorders and illnesses, a comprehensive evaluation that includes hearing and blood tests is required (Le Courteur et al ., 2008).
The increase in the number of children suffering from ASD might be caused by environmental factors. A study that was conducted in Texas shows that white non-Hispanic children who are being diagnosed with Autism are more that Hispanic children with the disorder (Palmer et al ., 2010). Further, Palmer et al . (2010) point out that where genetics is the primary cause of ASD, there would be an equal number of both Hispanic and white non-Hispanic children with the disorder. On the contrary, the rise in ASD children is more common among non-Hispanic white kids. When the cause of many children who were white and non-Hispanic being diagnosed with autism was researched, it was found that there were few ASD Hispanic children in school districts in the region. The number of Hispanic children in district schools has been increasing significantly, even after the healthcare provider factors and socioeconomic factors were adjusted. However, the number of children who have autism did not increase. In the case where Hispanic children increased in number in schools, we would say that the cause of autism is strictly related to genetics. For this reason, researchers believe that other factors are involved in autism diagnosis. In fact, these other factors contribute to the influx in the number of children who are diagnosed with ASD. From this research, socioeconomic factors play a prominent role when it comes to children with autism. Results show that the higher density of physicians in the diagnostic department and socioeconomic status explains why cases of autism are less among Hispanic kids. Many white non-Hispanic children are being diagnosed with ASD because of the resources these children obtain. The possibility of Hispanic children not who have autism because of health care delivery is enormous. Further research on this subject will help determine some discrepancies that are involved.
The cause of the disorder is sometimes related to abnormal structure or functioning of the brain. Brain scans of children show differences in the structure and shape of the brain of children with ASD as compared to those of ordinary children. The exact cause of autism is known. Researchers are investigating various related medical problems, genetics and theories. \in many families where a child is suffering from ASD, there is a pattern of autism or a related disability, hence supporting the fact that ASD is genetic (Steyaert & De La Marche, 2008). No one gene has been found to cause the disorder, but researchers are still looking for irregular genetic code segments that autistic children have inherited. Some children are born susceptible to autism, but no "trigger" has been identified to cause the development of autism in them.
Scientists have started discovering that most disorders that are related to autism are different. In fact, they have different implications for the functioning of the brain and treatment. For example, some scientists worked with genetically engineered mice. The researchers found that tuberous sclerosis (TSC), which is related to the autism spectrum, is caused by little synthesis of proteins in the brain synapses. In contrast, Fragile X syndrome, another condition within the autism spectrum, is caused by too much synthesis of proteins (Steyaert & De La Marche, 2008). TSC and Fragile X syndrome are both traced to specific mutations in one gene, yet they are different mutation types on different genes. TSC is found on TSC1 or TSC2 genes, while Fragile X syndrome is found on Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP) gene. However, both conditions have severe mental retardation as a characteristic. The idea that different disorders related to autism have different causes tells us that gene mutations don’t produce the same disorders despite the fact that both are considered types of autism. Other research is being carried out on unstable genes which, under certain conditions, alter the development of the brain in children, hence lead to autism. Other research is being carried out on problems during childbirth and pregnancy. Environmental factors like exposure to chemicals, viral infections, and metabolic imbalances are also being considered in finding the causes of ASD (Palmer et al ., 2010).
In conclusion, there is no established cause of ASD. Some sources relate the disorder to socioeconomic factors, while others relate it to the change in the method used in diagnosing the disorder. However, there is ongoing research be doctors to establish causes of the disorder. There are several types of research that are in progress currently, such as the TSC and the Fragile X syndrome research. Children who have the disorder should be kept under constant supervision and be given the correct medication by a physician to ensure they are not in bad condition. We should wait for the specific causes of ASD to be found for a curative treatment to be established.
References
Le Courteur, A., Haden, G., Hammal, D., & McConachie, H. (2008). Diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in pre-school children using two standardized assessment instruments: the ADI-R and the ADOS. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders , 362-372.
Lyons, C. A., & Martin, B. (2014). Abnormal Psychology: Clinical and scientific perspective (5 th Ed.). Redding, CA: BVT Publishing.
Palmer, R. F., Walker, T., Madell, D., Bayles, B., & Miller, C. S. (2010). Explaining Low Rates of Autism among Hispanic Schoolchildren in Texas. American Journal of Public Health ,
270-272.
Pasco, G. (2010). Identification and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders: an update. Pediatric
Health , 107-114.
Schwartz, I. S., & Sandall, S. R. (2010). Is Autism the Disability That Breaks Part C? A
Commentary on "Infants and Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Early
Identification and Early Intervention," by Boyd, Odom, Humphreys, and Sam. Journal of Early Intervention , 105-109.
Steyaert, J. G., & De La Marche, W. (2008). What's new in autism? Sprinter , 1091-1101.
