Autism Spectrum Disorder - Essay Example

Autism Spectrum Disorder Name Institution Date Autism Spectrum Disorder Introduction Autism spectrum disorder is characterized by social deficits, communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors and cognitive delays. It usually occurs among the children below the age of three and hence delaying their normal functioning. The children with autism always have to spend most of the time with their carers or parents. This may result to a lot of pressure being put on the parents as they may be forced to stop their daily activities in order to take care of the children with this condition. The specific cause of autism is not clear but several risk factors are known to contribute to autism. Autism can be diagnosed between the ages of three to four years. This means that the cares have to watch the child closely for a long period of time. The research therefore intends to address the question of what are the sibling recurrence, family and genetic epidemiology of autism? This topic is of personal interest since I need to understand the coping skills that are required in order to become a resilient parent. My marriage also failed to last after having a son with autism spectrum disorder due to the strain on the marriage and hence the reason for the interest in the topic. Discussion Specific language impairment is among the siblings is associated with autism. According to Tomblin, et al, (2003), autism language impairments among the siblings in a family is associated with language impairments. The research the risk of autism for siblings with specific language impairment is much higher. Specific language impairment is therefore considered as a risk factor for autism among siblings. This is an indication that families with children with specific language impairment are more likely to have children with autism. According to Newschaffer, et al, (2012), the risk factor for the siblings is also high. The situation is also the same for the twins as they have a high risk of autism as compared to the general population incase their siblings have autism. The article also further highlights the risk factors during pregnancy which may cause autism. It is also important to note that the prenatal and perinatal risk factors also affects the siblings puts them at a higher risk as compared to the other children. The findings from the research with regards to the risk factors therefore indicate that autism may affect several children within a family. Early intervention is recommended for the purposes of ensuring that the condition is managed. The early intervention methods may also vary and it may require the carer to invest a lot of time in the process. According to Tomblin et, al, (2003), genetic contributions may be a factor that contributes to autism within a family. It is for this reason that the siblings have a high prevalence rate. According to carayol, et al, (2011), the siblings have a higher risk of Autism spectrum disorders. 10% of the siblings are at risk of being affected by the condition. The percentage is quite high considering that the prevalence rate of autism in children is 1 to 110. The research also highlights that the risk is increased by the accumulation of multiple susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphism. The chance of male children having autism in a family that is affected is quite high. The ratio of 45: 1 is used to describe the prevalence of male having the disorder. On the other hand, it is important to note that the research also indicates that a family may be affected deeply by autism. The chances of autism in a family are high once one child has been affected by the condition. However, the chances for the boys are much higher as compared to that of the girls. The research by Green, et al, (2012), the parent infant interaction is an important aspect of managing autism. The research also argues that the siblings are at a higher risk of suffering from the disorder. It therefore supports the finds that autism is usually common when one of the siblings in a family is affected by it. Families that do not have a history of autism have a lower chance of having children with autism. However, the situation is different for the families that have children who are suffering from the disorder. The parents should therefore be aware of the prevalence rate and the risk factors for the siblings. Genetics is also a factor that may contribute to autism among siblings in a family. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in siblings of the autistic children is 15 to 30 times greater as compared to the general population. According to Tomblin, et al, (2003), a partial shared etiology for the siblings with autism is due to the genetic factors. Although the research does not fully attribute the problem to genetics, it highlights that it has a role to play in autism. This can be used for the purposes of explaining why autism affects the siblings or a certain family. The high prevalence rate of autism within a family can be attributed to the genetic factors. This is also applicable in the case of language impairments disorder. According to Newschaffer, et al, (2012), the genetic factors can be combined with the environmental factors and hence contributing to autism among the siblings. The article further highlights that the combination of the prenatal factors and epigenetic factors can contribute to the risk of autism among the siblings. An analysis of DNA methylation and prenatal exposure is required in order to link the prenatal factors to the genetic factors. This is considering that the risk factors for the siblings have mainly been centered on prenatal environment and genetics. Further research on the genetic risk is however required for the purposes of coming up with a conclusive findings of the role that genetics play in the siblings risk factors. The pattern of inheritance of autism is quite complex among the siblings. This is considering that any issue of inheritance has to involve genetics. According to Carayol, et al, (2011), common autism associated variants, rare mutations and copy number variations are genetic factors that contribute to autism. On the other hand, the increase in the accumulation of multiple risk alleles can lead to an increased risk in the siblings of the autistic children. Sex differences are also a factor that is controlled by genes. The high prevalence rate of autism among the male as compared to the female is an indication that genetics has a role to play. The risk factors for the male siblings are much higher as compare to that of the female siblings. The genetic score is also useful in terms of assessing the genetic risk factors among the female. The results of genetic scores indicate that the male are at a higher risk of autism as compared to the female. According to Green, et al, (2012), the genetic factors puts at risk the siblings of the autistic children. However the genetic factors cannot be directly linked with the autism although a multiple genes can contribute to autism. The risk for the monozygotic twins is also higher as compared to that of the dizygotic twins. The increased risk among the twins is an indication that genetics play a role in contributing to autism among the infants. The relationship between the parents and the infants should therefore be enhanced in order to ensure that the condition is improved. The rate of autism spectrum disorders vary by gender and the number of boys with autism is much higher as compared to the girls. According to Carayol, et al, (2011), the ratio male to female is 45: 1 which is an indication that the more male siblings are likely to be affected with autism as compared to the female. The percentage of the population of children affected by autism is also about 2%. This is an indication that a high number of male siblings may en d up being affected by autism. According to Tomblin, et al, (2003), the cognitive impairment is responsible for autism among most of the females. This is also an indication that different factors can contribute to autism among the male and female children. The typical behaviors of the females are less likely and hence a factor that contributes to their low prevalence rates. According to Carayol, et al, (2011), further research on the prevalence of the female is required in order to ensure that a conclusive finding is made. This is because most of the research has focused on a higher number of male as compared to the female. This can however be attributed to the high number of male with the disorder as compared to the females. The epidemiology results therefore indicate that 6 out of 1000 children suffer from autism spectrum disorder. The risk of the siblings with autistic infants remains high according to Green, et al, (2012). Autism on the other hand has an impact on the relationship between an infant and the parents. A lot of care is required for the children with autism. This is due to the inability of the children with autism to develop like the other children. On the other hand, it is also important to note that the children with autism may end up growing normally in their adulthood stage depending on the condition. According to Newschaffer, et al, (2012), the family studies indicates that the recurrence risk for the siblings of autistic infants is quite high as compared to the other normal children. This is an indication that autism may be prevalence in a family and hence the increased risks for the siblings. According to Tomblin et, al, (2003), autism may also be prevalent in a family as opposed to it being random. It is due to this factor that the siblings are at a higher risk as compared to the other ordinary children. In order to fully understand the risks that the siblings are exposed to, it is important to ensure that a research is more focused on the families of the children with autism as compared to carrying out the research at random. The children with autism will also require a lot of support from the family members in order to ensure that a conducive environment for improving their condition is created. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident from all the articles that the prevalence rate for the siblings of the autistic children is quite high. This is due to various factors including prenatal environment and genetics. It is also evident that 6 out of 1000 children may end up being affected by autism. The prevalence of the male children is high as compared to that of the female children. It is also evident that each of the author highlights that the genetic factors may not be fully responsible for autism but it has a significant contribution. It is evident that autism is likely to occur among several children within a family due to the high risk factors for the siblings. Family research is thus useful in terms of creating an understanding of autism among the children. It is also evident that the sex of the infants is controlled by genetics and hence the link between autism and sex. The ratio of male to female in terms of autism is 45:1. The question of how genetics is linked to autism also needs to be answered. On the other hand, the history of the parents with autistic conditions should also be provided to determine whether there is a link between their conditions and the children. Finally actual statistics with regards to the prevalence of the siblings should be provided. Reflection The assignment was quite interesting as it provided me with more information regarding autism. This is considering that I have a personal interest with regards to information about autism. However, I disliked the process of analyzing the statistical data that were presented in the article. This is because most of the data was complex and difficult to understand. I would give the assignment 35/40 since it has addressed most of the issues regarding the question of the topic. I would suggest to other students to carry out intensive research with regards to the articles to be used for the assignment. This is because some of the articles do not have detailed information. On the other hand, it is also important to note that a proper analysis of the articles is required in order to create a deeper understanding. If I had the chance to do this assignment again, I will change some of the articles and also the question itself for the purposes of making it more comprehensive. It is also important to note that I would ensure that more articles are used for the purposes of answering the interview question. References Newschaffer, C. et al. (2012). Infant Siblings and the investigation of Autism Risk factor. Journal of Neurodevelopment Disorders. Tomblin, B. et al. (2003). Autism and autism risk in siblings of children with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. Carayol, J. et al. (2011). Autism risk assessment in siblings of affected children using Sex- specific genetic scores. Physiological aspects, Research Autistic Children. Green, J. et al. (2012). Parent-infant interaction infant siblings at risk of Autism. Research in Development Disabilities, Infant at risk of Autism. Appendix Newschaffer, C. et al Tomblin, B. et al. Carayol, J. et al. Green, J. et al. Main Idea A High risk factors caused by prenatal and post natal causes. Spoken language is related to autism. Differential sex effects increases the risk factor of autism. Siblings have a high rate of developing autism. Main Idea B Genetics has a role in the risk factors. Siblings at a high risk of autism Autism prevalence differs among male and female. The parent infant interaction is important. Read More