Autism – Brain DisorderEssay title: Autism – Brain DisorderAutismAutismAutism: brain disorder that begins in early childhood and persists throughout adulthood; affects three crucial areas of development: communication, social interaction, and creative or imaginative play.
PrevalenceFor many years, the most cited statistic is that autism occurs in 4.5 out of 10,000 live births. This was based on large-scale surveys conducted in the United States and England. More recently, estimates on the prevalence of autism have ranged been as high as 1/4% to 1/2% of the population. These estimates typically include those with autism, Asperger syndrome, and PDD.
Autism is three times more likely to affect males than females. This gender difference is not unique to autism since many developmental disabilities have a greater male to female ratio.
Major characteristicsMany autistic infants are different from birth. Two common characteristics they may exhibit include arching their back away from their caregiver to avoid physical contact and failing to anticipate being picked up (i.e., becoming limp). As infants, they are often described as either passive or overly agitated babies. A passive baby refers to one who is quiet most of the time making little, if any, demands on his/her parents. An overly agitated baby refers to an infant who cries a great deal, sometimes non-stop, during his/her waking hours. During infancy, many begin to rock and/or bang their head against the crib; but this is not always the case.
In the first few years of life, some autistic toddlers reach developmental milestones, such as talking, crawling, and walking, much earlier than the average child; whereas others are considerably delayed. Approximately one-half of autistic children develop normally; until somewhere between the ages of 1 1/2 to 3; then autistic symptoms begin to emerge. These individuals are often referred to as having regressive autism. Some people in the field believe that Candida albicans, vaccinations, exposure to a virus, or the onset of seizures may be responsible for this regression. It is also thought that some children with regressive autism may have Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (see next section).
The autistic child’s developmental trajectories are extremely similar. The most common pattern is a slow and steady progression to learning and behavior milestones. In children with regressive autism there is a marked increase in the incidence of some behaviors to be learned while others are less often learned.
Loss of Interest in Behavior, Cognitive Function and Behavior
The majority of kids with regressive autism do not want to pursue the hobby or to be involved in activities that are more interesting and interesting to them. This includes walking, and other forms of social interaction, such as playing with loved ones (such as the school children playing outside) and taking a trip to a park.
The most common form of behavior is a lack of interest, often in going to the park at night. Common activities such as taking pictures, going to the movie theater, going to the grocery store, playing music in the park, and so on would be lost to those with regressive autism.
Adults with regressive autism typically develop to an early stage: they do not complete their high school or college classes, attend classes, do not participate in school activities and never participate in work, including those that involve money and other social and personal relationships. However, some of these children may develop socially, in a sense that any participation in those activities has been lost to them. They also often will engage in other forms of peer support such as playing games or going to movies such as The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy or The Adventures of Tintin. In addition there are children with learning disabilities who may become depressed or agitated or have difficulty concentrating. Some of the adults with regressive autism may not have the experience to help them develop to the point of complete independence and independence of mind. These children then have difficulty with being able to control themselves. This is in large part due to the very early stages of development from birth to the children. The autistic child typically is very self-focused, has poor self-expression, often seems to have trouble understanding others, and does not engage in formal conversations.
In contrast, some families with regressive autism may use more direct communication with other people. These families are often very supportive and have the same level of professional competence and self-awareness of the other person. Children with regressive autism tend to have the best interpersonal relationships with their parents. In many cases children have the most success and growth when their parents are present and their children are fully exposed to the world around them and to their surroundings.
Some people may mistakenly think that their autistic children lack interest in sports, or that they just don’t like their sports. Many children with regressive autism will see soccer as too much fun, and often will take off.
During childhood, autistic children may fall behind their same-aged peers in the areas of communication, social skills, and cognition. In addition, dysfunctional behaviors may start to appear, such as self-stimulatory behaviors (i.e., repetitive, non-goal directed behavior, such as rocking, hand-flapping), self-injury (e.g., hand-biting, head banging), sleeping and eating problems, poor eye contact, insensitivity to pain, hyper-/hypo-activity, and attention deficits.
One characteristic which is quite common in autism is the individuals āinsistence on samenessā or repetitive behavior. Many children become overly insistent on routines; if one is changed, even slightly, the child may become upset and tantrum. Some common examples are: drinking and/or eating the same food items at every meal, wearing certain clothing or insisting that others wear the same clothes, and going to school using the same route. One possible reason for āinsistence on samenessā may be the persons inability to understand and cope with novel situations.
Autistic individuals sometimes have difficulty with the transition to puberty. Approximately 25% have seizures for the first time during puberty which may be due to hormonal changes. In addition, many behavior problems can become more frequent and more severe during this period. However, others experience puberty with relative ease.
In contrast to 20 years ago when many autistic individuals were institutionalized, there are now many flexible living arrangements. Usually, only the most severe individuals live in institutions. In adulthood, some people with autism live at home with their parents; some live in residential facilities; some live semi-independently (such as in a group home); and others live independently. There are autistic adults who graduate from college and receive graduate degrees; and some develop adult relationships and may marry. In the work environment, many autistic adults can be reliable and conscientious workers. Unfortunately, these individuals may have difficulty getting a job. Since many of them are socially awkward and may appear to be eccentric or different, they often have difficulty with the job interview.
CausesAlthough there is no known unique cause of autism, there is growing evidence that autism can be caused by a variety of problems. There is some indication of a genetic influence in autism. For example, there is a greater likelihood that two monozygotic twins (i.e., identical twins)