Autism
Autism is a disorder that impairs the
development of a person's capacity to
interact with, communicate with, and
also maintain regular "normal"
bonds with the outside world. This disorder
was described in 1943 by Leo Kanner,
an American psychologist. Autism is
considered one of the more common
developmental disabilities, and appears
before the age of three. It is known to
be four or five times more common in
males than in females. It most cited
statistic is that autism occurs in 4.5
out of 10,000 live births. The estimate
of children having autistic qualities
is reported to be 15 to 20 out of 10,000.
The gender statement noted
before is not uncommon, since many developmental
disabilities have a greater
male to female ratio. Autistic characteristics are
different from birth. Two
more common characteristics that may be exhibited are
the arching of the back
while being held, to avoid contact, and also failing to
anticipate being
picked up (limpness in the body). Infants with autism are
described as being
either very passive, or very agitated. Sometimes during
infancy there will be
cases of head rocking, and or banging, against the crib,
but this is not
always the case. Approximately one-third of children develop
normally until
the ages of 1 1/2 to 3, and then the symptoms emerge, referred to
as
"regressive autism." During childhood, there is a commonality of
the affected
child insisting routine. The reasoning is that the child is not
able to cope
with "novel" situations. Wearing the same clothes, or
eating the same foods
during meals, are examples. Tantrums can occur when these
perseverative
behaviors occur. Twenty years ago, most autistic individuals
were
institutionalized. Now only the most severe cases live in institutions.
During
adulthood, autistic individuals are known to live with their parents,
in
residential institutions, and some do live independently. Because there
are so
many forms of this disorder, it has been said that there is no true
adjective to
describe every type of person with autistic symptoms, or autism.
My research
shows that there are no physiological tests that can be performed
to determine
whether a person has autism. The diagnosis is given when a
person exhibits the
characteristics of the disorder. Note: In the last five
years, researchers have
agreed that those who display autistic
characteristics are commonly suffering
from other related but distinct
disorders, such as Asperger Syndrome, Fragile X
syndrome, Landau Kleffner
syndrome, Rett syndrome, and Williams syndrome.
Physiological researchers
have discovered abnormalities within the brain, but
the reason for the
abnormalities is not known, and it is not known where the
relation to autism
lies. These abnormalities range from underdeveloped areas in
the limbic
system, to Vernal lobules VI and VII, being smaller than
average.
Biochemical research has found elevated beta-endorphins,
relating to pain
tolerance in autistic action. In the cognitive realm, there
is much talk of the
"theory of mind", or the inability to realize that other
people have
their own unique view of the world. Some Cognitive theorists
think that the
autistic person isn't able to understand that other people
have different
thoughts, plans, and perspectives than their own. Cognitive
theorists also
examine the 10% statistic of savant skills, an ability that is
considered
remarkable by most standards. These savant skills are usually
spatial in nature.
Interventions and therapies are difficult. Family
theorists try to work with the
family of the patient, to try to develop
appropriate behaviors. There is no
reported drug that can be considered
primary for the patient, although Ritalin
is dispensed in many cases.
Behaviorists look at the changing of behavior
through positive reinforcement,
behavior recess, and in turn examine the
self-stimulatory and self-injurious
behaviors. Physiological work such as visual
training, and auditory
integration training, is used to reduce sensitivities to
sounds above normal
range, or to sounds the patient can consider painful. When
it comes to
autism, the most important thing to remember is that parents and
doctors in
the medical field are now realizing that there can be treatments,
and
interventions, that can be effective. In addition, note that Federal Law
now
requires the states to provide early intervention services for autistic
children
between the ages of one to three. The services exist to provide
tools to develop
the children academically, and socially.