AUTISM Autism starts
before a child turns to three years. It is a disorder in the brain development
which weakens the social interaction and communication. Autism causes
restricted and repetitive behavior. Autism is a hereditary disorder even
though the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear which genes are
responsible. Autism is associated with agents which cause birth defects in
rare cases. Other possible causes of autism are childhood vaccines which are
controversial and the vaccine hypotheses lack convincing scientific evidence.
According to the experts out of 1000 children 3-6 children will have autism.
Male are four times more to have autism than females. Symptoms The occurrence
of autism is not known and it affects many parts of the brain. In the first
two years of the child's life, parents usually notice the signs of autism.
Autism is characterized by three distinctive behaviors. The autistic children
have difficulties with social interaction, problems with verbal and non verbal
communication, and repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests. There
is a reduced sensitivity of pain, but are more sensitive to sound, touch or
other sensory stimulation. These reactions may contribute to the behavioral
symptoms such as a resistance to being cuddled or hugged.
There is no cure for
autism but treatment can help. The early behavioral and cognitive interference
can help them to develop self-care, social and communication. An infant with
autism may be non responsive to people or focus intently on one item by
excluding others for a long period of time. With this disorder few children
live independently after reaching adulthood and some of them become
successful. Some people believe that autism is a condition than a disorder.
Autism children have speech problems, they might not look in to the eyes when
talk to them. Before they can pay attention they may have to line up their
pencils, these children will say the same sentence again and again. To tell
that they are happy they flap their arms or they might hurt themselves if they
are not. Some people never learn to talk. They lack empathy. The autistic
children cannot interpret the thoughts and feelings of others and also cannot
understand the tone of voice and facial expressions.
The autistic people have
different symptoms and because this it is known as spectrum disorder. The
milder version of this disorder is Asperger syndrome. The disorder lasts
throughout a person's life time. Autism shares numerous signs with Rett
syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder. Asperger's syndrome does not
have any delay in the language development. Autistic children are at a higher
risk for some co-existing conditions such as fragile X syndrome which causes
mental retardation, tuberous sclerosis in which the tumors grow on the brain,
epileptic seizures, Tourette syndrome, disabilities in learning and attention deficit
disorder.
By the time autistic children reach adulthood about 20 to 30% of
children develop epilepsy for the reasons unknown. Also schizophrenic people
may show some autistic-like behavior but the symptoms do not appear until the
late teens or early adulthood. The Schizophrenic people also have
hallucinations and delusions which are not found in autism. Diagnose Based on
the IQ autism is sometimes divided in to the low, medium and high functioning
autism. The child affected by autism will show less attention to social
stimuli, smile and look at others less often and very rarely respond to their
own name. The severity and symptoms of autism may go unrecognized mainly in
mildly affected children or when it is covered by more weakening handicaps.
Doctors depend on a group of behaviors for diagnosing autism. These behaviors
are:
(1) Unable to make friends with peers.
(2) Unable to initiate or to
continue a conversation with others.
(3) Absence of imaginative and social
play.
(4) Unusual, typecast, repetitive use of language.
(5) Preoccupation
with certain subjects or objects.
(6) Rigid devotion to certain routines or
rituals.
With help of a questionnaire or any other screening instrument
doctors assemble information about the child's development and behavior. Some
screening depends on the parent observations and some others on a combination
of parent and doctor observations. If there is an indication or possibility of
autism, the doctors will ask for more comprehensive evaluation. As autism is a
complex disorder a combined evaluation is needed with a multidisciplinary team
including psychologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, speech therapist and other
expert in diagnosing the children with ASDs.
Girls with autism may be
suffering from Rett syndrome, a sex-linked genetic disorder described by
social withdrawal, deteriorated language skills and hand wringing. Treatment
Autism cannot be cured. But according to the experts the earlier intervention
can make them to cope up with the day-to-day life. Structured and skill
oriented training sessions to help children develop social and language
skills. Counseling for parents and siblings of autistic children can help the
families to cope with the challenges of living with an autistic child. To
handle symptoms of anxiety, depression or obsessive compulsive disorder
doctors often prescribe anti depressant medications. To treat severe
behavioral problems anti-psychotic medicines are used.
With one or more of the
anticonvulsant drugs seizures can be treated. To reduce impulsivity and
hyperactivity stimulant drugs are some times used effectively. There are
several therapies which are controversial and parents should be aware of that
before taking in to consideration any of these treatments.
