Population Profile: Autism Spectrum Disorder - Essay Example

? Population Profile: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Introduction: People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) normally encounter various social problems while interacting with their peers in the society. This is mainly because of the various misconceptions that people have towards them. Some people think that these people are social misfits in the society, because of their inability to communicate properly. This problem of communication amongst people living with autism spectrum disorder normally occurs at a very young age (Beitman and Neir, 2004). Without proper diagnoses of the condition, these children might not develop proper language and communication skills when they become adults. The society should therefore not discriminate these people but should develop measures of helping them to effectively develop proper communication and language skills. This population profile will focus on seven key areas for purposes of understanding better methods of helping people with autism spectrum disorder to improve on their communication skills. The first area of interest will be a detailed definition of the term autism spectrum disorder. It is from the definition that we shall understand what autism spectrum disorder is all about, since it is impossible to develop a policy on an unknown issue. The second area of interest will be to identify particular characteristics of people living with this problem. This paper will also talk about the history of this disorder, and thereafter it will identify the socio-economic conditions that people living with autism engage in. The fifth area of interest is the age group in which this syndrome affects most. The sixth area of interest is on education. How education can help in developing the language skills of people living with autism spectrum disorder. The seventh area of interest is on statistics. This will show the race and gender of people mostly affected by this disorder in the county of Lee. Definition of ASD: Autistic spectrum disorder is an example of a pervasive development disorder. It refers to a cluster of developmental disabilities which have a capability of causing significant communication, behavioral and social challenges. Examples of this disorder include autism, asperger syndrome, and pervasive development disorder (PDD-NOS). Autism is the most common disorder under the autistic spectrum disorders. Asperger syndrome comes next; however, it does not cause a delay in language development as autism does. The PDD-NOS is only diagnosed when medical experts fail to find a particular pervasive development disorder (Casanova, 2005). Medical experts can refer to the three disorders as autistic disorders, instead of autistic spectrum disorder. Autistic disorders denote a postulated spectrum disorder and link it to a variety of conditions. On the other hand, autistic spectrum disorder can refer to individuals who portray autistic character traits such as inability to maintain eye contact. Under this explanation, some scholars classify other disorders such as the childhood disintegrative disorder and the Rett syndrome as part of the autistic spectrum disorder (Williams and Williams, 2011). Despite these differences in definition, people with autism experience discrimination because of their inability to communicate. Therefore classifying them in one group or another will not help them, unless the society develops policies that will help them develop their language and communication skills. Characteristic of ASD: Williams and Williams (2011) observe that autism spectrum disorder has an effect in three different aspect of a person’s life, most notably children. These areas are in communication, both non-verbal and verbal communication. Other areas include their social interaction process and their interests/behaviors. A person with this disorder portrays different characteristics with another person with a similar disorder. For example, the developmental characteristics of a child with this disorder may be delayed from the time of his/her birth. Another child may show normal developmental growth, before losing their language and social skills (Heller and Gitterman, 2011). Other children with this disorder may portray a normal developmental growth until such a time when they can communicate efficiently to demonstrate unusual thoughts. Some children with this disorder may lose their language skills, while other may portray unusual behavioral patterns like spending most of their time lining up toys, at the expense of other social activities. A child with autism is unable to effectively socialize with their peers. Heller and Gitterman (2011) observe that other characteristics include signs of repetitive and stereotyped behaviors. Asperger syndrome on the other hand shows signs of repetitive rituals, peculiarities in speeches, inappropriate social behavior and awkward motor movements. People with PDD-NOS portray some signs of deficiency in only one area of their lives. For instance, they may show problems in their interactive social lives, or they may have some stereotyped behaviors. History of ASD: There are controversial arguments on the emergence of autism spectrum disorder. However, in 1950, the refrigerator mother theory explained the emergence of autism spectrum disorder. This theory emerged with the idea that autistic behaviors occurred in an individual because of an aspect of emotional frigidity, lack of tenderness and affection to the baby from the mother. This theory further denotes that a child developed autistic behavior because of a distant and a cold relationship between the child and the mother. Due to the evolution of this theory, parents whose children had the condition suffered from guilt and self-doubt (Casanova, 2005). This is because the theory gained acceptance amongst the medical fraternity, and went unchallenged during the periods of 1960s. In the 21st century, medical experts do not use the refrigerator mother theory to explain the occurrence of autistic spectrum disorder in an individual. In the 1090s, and 1980s, there were claims that extensive watching of television programs led to the emergence of autism in an individual (Williams and Williams, 2011). This assumption came as a result of an increase in the growth of television cables during this period of time. However, there isn’t any scientific confirmation of this assumption. Recent research finds that there isn’t any specific cause of autism spectrum disorder. Factors such as the genetic makeup of individual, peri-natal and pre-natal factors may contribute to the emergence of autism spectrum disorder in an individual. Socio-Economic Conditions: Casanova (2005) observes that there is a direct relationship between the emergence of autistic spectrum disorder, and the socio-economic status of an individual. There are higher chances that people from poor family will not get early diagnoses of the problem. This is because they are not able to easily access medical facilities and care (McCandless, Binstock and Zimmerman,2009). Because of poverty, people with ASD might fail to get proper care in their childhood which in turn will help in developing their language and communication skills. Poverty therefore is a big factor that hinders effective integration of these people into the society. Age Group: Unfortunately this syndrome does not target a specific age group, but it starts from childhood and goes on into adulthood. According to statistics, this disorder occurs more amongst boys, than girls. An early diagnosis of the disorder is therefore important because this will help a child to develop proper social and language skills (Casanova, 2005). Education: In the county of Lee, Florida, there were numerous education institutions whose policy is to integrate students with autism spectrum disorder, with normal students. This form of education is referred to as inclusive education. This is because everybody participates in the education process, irrespective of their social and physical position. This type of education is good in solving the social challenges that people with ASD face (Florida 2010). This is because they will gain confidence, an important element that facilitates the growth of social and language skills. The 2008 Statistics: The following is a 2008 statistics that depicts the number of people diagnosed with autism in the county of Lee. The number of children who had ASD in this year stood at 211. Thus the percentage was 7.2 in every 1000 people (Florida 2010). The male gender had the highest number of people living with the disorder, and it stood at 11.3 in every 1000 people. The statistics portray the female gender has having a diagnoses of 2 in every 1000 people. In terms of race and ethnicity, the Hispanics are the most affected with 8.2 in every 1000 people. This was followed by the whites who stood at 4, and the blacks whose number was 3 in every 1000 people. Questions: I will also need answers from these questions from my community representative agents. 1. What is their definition of autistic spectrum disorder? 2. What are their views on the social integration of people with autistic spectrum disorder? 3. Are there special institutions within the county that carter for the needs of people with this disorder? 4. Are these institutions effective in catering for the various needs of people with this disorder? 5. Are the interventions by the agency effective in addressing problems that people living with autistic disorder face? 6. Are there any changes of attitude and perception concerning this disorder after interacting with people living with the disorder? Summary of the Profile: This profile identifies the meaning of autistic spectrum disorder, and it holds the assumption that there are two definitions. The distinguishing feature between these two definitions is that one definition identifies the presence of Rett syndrome and childhood disintegrative disorder as part of the autistic spectrum disorder. The other definition does not identify the presence of these two syndromes, and only concerns itself with the asperger syndrome, autism, and PDD-NOS. This profile also identifies the characteristics of the autistic spectrum disorder, and outlines its history. In general, this paper denotes that people with this problem are unable to communicate effectively, and this limits there social integration. This profile also identifies the socio-economic group that has the most number of diagnoses and thus treatment of the disorder. It denotes that it is the rich who have an access to proper medical facilities, and this facilitates early diagnoses of the problem, and thus treatment. This will most definitely improve their communication ability. Finally, this profile identifies the age group in which this disorder affects. It also talks about the role of education in developing the language skills of people with this disorder. This paper also identifies the 2008 statistics that shows the age group and race of people who suffered most from the disorder. Finally, this profile has a number of questions that will facilitate knowledge of this disorder in the county of Lee, situated in Florida. References: Beitman, B. D., & Nair, J. (2004). Self-awareness deficits in psychiatric patients: neurobiology, assessment, and treatment. New York: W.W. Norton. Casanova, M. F. (2005). Recent developments in autism research. New York: Nova Biomedical Books. Florida 2010 : population and housing unit counts.. (2012). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. Heller, N. R., & Gitterman, A. (2011). Mental health and social problems: a social work perspective. London: Routledge. McCandless, J., Binstock, T., & Zimmerman, J. (2009). Children with starving brains: a medical treatment guide for autism spectrum disorder (4th ed.). Putney, VT: Bramble Books. Williams, B. F., & Williams, R. L. (2011). Effective programs for treating autism spectrum disorder applied behavior analysis models. New York: Routledge Read More