Autism in Emotional Development of a Child - Research Paper Example

Name of author: Autism The emotional development of a child is as important as his physical development. Proper care is necessary for children to grow healthier. However, in some cases, even if the parents take immense care, the emotional development of a child can be adversely affected because of the genetic problems. One of the peculiar aspects of autism is the fact that autistic children may exhibit extra ordinary skills in some areas whereas they may show adjustment or adaptation problems in other areas. Both environment and heredity play an important role in the emotional development of a child and heredity seems to be the most important factor among the two. Even though, many psychological problems can be occurred to a child due to hereditary problems, autism seems to be the worst genetic diseases which create problems in social interactions, language learning and behaviours of the children. It is estimated that around 90% of the causes of autism are related to genetic factors. It is difficult to treat genetic diseases like autism with the help of psychiatric medicines even though medical science advanced a lot in the treatment of psychological disorders. This paper briefly analyses autism, its symptoms, causes, and treatment options. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of genetic origins, with a heritability of about 90%. There is no single biological or clinical marker for autism, nor is it expected that a single gene is responsible for its expression; as many as 15+ genes may be involved. No single region of the brain or pathophysiological mechanism has yet been identified as being associated with autism. There is evidence that overall brain size is increased in some individuals with autism (Santangelo & Tsatsanis). The exact reasons for autism are yet to be known. However, medical experts and psychologists are unique in their opinion about the genetic factors involved in autism. Autism is considered as a developmental disorder in which the child shows irregularities or abnormalities in his behavior as time goes on. In social interactions, language development and behavioral patterns, the child with autism may shows abnormalities. Many medical scientists are of the view that the structure of the brain plays a vital role in causing autism. In other words, neurophysiological functions believed to be the culprit in causing autism. Neurotransmitters collect instructions from brain and send it across the body for further action. Moreover, neurotransmitters collect information and send it to brain for further analysis and actions. All bodily actions are taking place based on these to and fro motion of information and instruction from brain. Malfunctioning of neurotransmitters will cause enormous problems in sending and receiving information among autistic children. An entity called neurons is believed to be the information carriers in our body. The communication between body and brain is taking place with the help of neurons. Neurons are operating across a junction called synapse. Any defects in this junction synapse may cause immense damages to the smooth flow of neurons which may ultimately result in disorders like autism. Many of the studies have succeeded in identifying some serious differences in the structure of the brain and the level of certain neurotransmitters in blood and spinal fluid. Some studies have raised suspicion over the functioning of the neurotransmitter, serotonin in causing autism. Serotonin is responsible for controlling sleep, mood, sensory perception, appetite etc. Individuals with Autism are known to have increased levels of serotonin in their blood. They produce, absorb or metabolize serotonin differently than those who are not autistic. The values for overall serotonin synthesis in the brains of autistic patients are also significantly different. Dr. Harry Chugani, the Director of the Children's Hospital of Michigan PET Scan Center reports that "[I]n nonautistic children, the values for serotonin synthesis change during development, such that the values for children between 3 and 8 years old are three times higher than those measured in adults. In the autistic children between the ages of 3 and 8, serotonin synthesis values were only 1 higher than the adult values." This would suggest that especially for autistic children, medication that mimics serotonin would be helpful in targeting specific behaviours that are characteristic of autism (Holister) Herbert (2005) has pointed out that “Autism is a static encephalopathy with fixed core neurobiological or brain abnormality resting upon hardwired architectural alterations in tissues that may be otherwise healthy” (Herbert, p.358). He has given the following illustrations to make his point clearer. (Herbert, p.359) The close association of genes, brain and behavior is evident from the above figure. Genes can influence the behavior of a person and brain seems to be the intermediate agent between genetic function and behavior. It is also evident from the above diagram that most of the behaviors of a person are genetically motivated. In autistic children, some genes may not function well which may reflect in the overall behavior of the child. The irregular functioning of genes among autistic children may lead them towards excellent performances even in some difficult subjects whereas they may exhibit poor expertize in simple subjects. Thompson (2006) has quoted the opinions of Neuroscientists from the University of Louisville working with researchers in various laboratories which shows that; The differences in the brain structure which may help explain why people with autism often have higher skills with such things as mathematics and visual discrimination but have problems with speech and recognizing faces. Tiny strands of connected tissue in the brain which carry messages are narrower and more densely packed in individuals who have autism (Thompson) Most of the autistic children may have comparatively bigger heads than the normal children. It doesn’t mean that autistic children are either brilliant or idiots. The irregularities in head size are an indication of the non-uniform development of the brain among autistic children. In other words, among autistic children, some part of the brain could be more developed whereas other parts could be underdeveloped. That is why autistic children show differences in their abilities to learn different subjects. The development of medical science and the computer assisted evaluations or imaging helped medical experts in unveiling some of the mysteries surrounding autism. Modern pathological examinations with the help of advanced technologies proved the existence of abnormalities in the areas of brain that control speech and senses among autistic children. Vogin (2010) has concluded some of the recent findings about autism which are given below. Basic differences are there in the size and number of structures called minicolumns between the normal and autistic people (Minicolumns are basic organizational units of brain cells. They act as connective wiring, allowing a person to take in information, process it, and respond). Autistic patients had smaller minicolumns, but also many more of them compared with healthy individuals. If autistic brains have more minicolumns, but not the necessary processing capacity required to interpret and make sense of all that information, then the brain becomes flooded by "noise" -- incoming signals that put too much strain on the brain (Vogin MD) As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to treat autism effectively like other psychological disorders since it is a genetic disease. Psychiatric medicines have limitations in making changes in the structure of brain. However, psychiatric medicines can control the behaviors of autistic children up to certain extent. Psychoactive substances or psychiatric medicines can control the perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior of a person since it can affect the functioning of neurotransmitters. These drugs can increase or decrease the activities neurotransmitter systems in such a way to cultivate the desired mood in the minds of the patient. Psychoactive substances are able to mimic the effects of naturally occurring or endogenous neurotransmitters, or to interfere with normal brain function by blocking normal function, or by altering the normal storage, release and removal of neurotransmitters. One important mechanism by which psychoactive substances act is to block the reuptake of a neurotransmitter after it is released from the presynaptic terminal. Reuptake is a normal mechanism by which the transmitter is removed from the synapse by the presynaptic membrane (Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence, p.16) Aman et al (2003) have mentioned about the effectiveness of risperidone in reducing autistic symptoms. He has quoted the findings of Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Autism Network and pointed out that “both autistic disorder and high levels of irritability” can be treated effectively with risperidone (Aman et al, p.532) To conclude, autism is a genetic disorder which is causing major challenges in the development of a child. Autistic children may show irregularities in their behavior while facing different situations. They may show excellent skills in grasping difficult subjects; however they may face difficulties in grasping simple topics. This is because of the non-uniform development of the brain systems among autistic children. Autistic children generally may have bigger head than the normal children because of the uneven development of brain systems. Genetic factors are more prominent in causing autism. Psychoactive drugs like risperidone are effective in the treatment of autism. In short, autism is a genetic developmental disorder which is difficult to treat effectively. Works Cited 1. Aman M.G, Lam K.S.L, Crespin A.C. Prevalence and Patterns of Use of Psychoactive Medicines among Individuals with Autism in the Autism Society of Ohio. 2003. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 33, No. 5, October 2003. 2. Herbert, Martha.R. (2005). Autism: A brain disorder or a disorder that affects brain? Clinical Neuropsychiatry. (2005) 2,6, Web. 15 May 2011. . p.354-379. 3. Holister E (2000). Autism and its Connection with the Neurotransmitter Serotonin. Web. 15 May 2011. 4. “Neuroscience of Psychoactive Substance Use and Dependence”. 2004. World Health Organization 2004. Web. 15 May 2011. 5. Santangelo, Susan L & Tsatsanis, Katherine. “What is Known About Autism: Genes, Brain, and Behavior”. 2005. American Journal of Pharmaco Genomics, Volume 5, Number 2, 2005, [Abstract only]. Web. 15 May 2011. 6. Thompson Tracey. “Brain Structure and Autism”. 2006.Web. 15 May 2011. 7. Vogin Gary.D., MD. “Autistic Brain Structure Is Different”. 2010.WebMD. Web. 15 May 2011. Read More