Diagnosis of Autism - Essay Example

Lecturer: Autism Autism is a neural development disorder characterized with verbal and non-verbal communications and restricted social interaction. Patients of autism normally show signs of repetitive behavior which in most is stereotyped. Diagnosis of autism occurs at the early ages of 2 and 3. Symptoms of autism Relationships and Social interactions Autistic patients show no sign of enjoyment and interest with other people. They tend avoid playing or being in crowded places. As such, they are poor in socialization and extreme cases avoid people. This leads to lack of friendship with people their age. They have difficulty in establishing and maintaining friendships. The patients also show no sign of feelings of other people’s feelings. They can’t be happy for someone or feel empathy for them. Verbal and non-verbal communication Patients with autism take time before they speak than other children do. In some cases even after developing the ability to speak they still have the difficulty to do so. In as many as 40 percent of autism cases the patients not speak at all. The patients also have a difficulty in starting maintaining conversations started. They tend to shy away from interacting with others. And in their conversations, they repeat words over and over again. In most cases words they’ve heard before from other people or places, a disorder called echolalia. The verbal and non- verbal communication is poorly developed. They have difficulty in maintaining eye contact with other people and hold conversations. In some cases they cannot hold conversations at all. As listeners, they do not do very well either. Patients may have difficulty in interpreting implied meanings in conversations like humor. They may fail to appreciate humor as they normally interpret word for word in conversations. Non-interest attitude Patients show lack of interest in having or being at social interaction events and whilst interacting, they tend to focus on pieces. For instance, children with autism may focus more on part of car e.g. a wheel rather than the whole vehicle. They show cases of stereotyped behavior like clapping of hands and rocking their bodies very often. They have a need to engage in repetitive behavior. They normally insist for event to take place like they always do. For instance, they may wish to follow the same route to school every day or eat bread for breakfast every day. They may show preoccupation to certain topics. Patients may always want to talk about the same things at all times. Possible causes of autism Several causes of autism have been proposed. It is however is worth nothing that most are incomplete and research is still ongoing as far as autism is concerned. There however been some possible causes proposed to be causing autism. They include: Genetics Though inconclusive, genetics is believed to explain the diagnosis of an autistic patient. Early research on twins indicated that genetics may be responsible to up to 90% cases of autism. Research suggests that more than one gene may be causing autism and so a combination of genetic disorder may lead to autism. This may be inheritable as people with autistic background may end up having children with the disorder. Other causes may be late parental ages. When couple try to have children at advanced ages, they have higher chances of giving birth to autistic children. The risk is even higher with advanced paternal age. Males who try having children at advanced ages are at a higher risk. This may be explained to be due to the aging sperm with high resistant to genetic mutation leading to the disorder. Pollution during pregnancy During pregnancy, when a pregnant mother is exposed to excessive pollution, it is believed to increase the risk of giving birth to an autistic child. Fever and persistent flu during pregnancy Persistent flu and fever during pregnancy may indicate a higher risk for a mother to give birth to an autistic child. Persistent is used to mean flu that can extend to a period of a week over. Types of autism Autism can be categorized into three different categories: Asperger’s Syndrome This kind of autism is characterized by in engagement repetitive and odd behavior. It is usually diagnosed at tender ages of about 2 and 6. The child generally indicates between average to good communication skills and intelligence that is ether average or above average. The only sign is the repetitive habit Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) This is not born with a child. One develops it during growth. However it is a very rare disorder and when it occurs, the child loses language, motor and social skills. Regressive Autistic Spectrum Disorder Also occurs when the child is growing normally between the months of 18-24. Treatment of Autism Research has indicated that training children with autism at early ages may improve their communication, learning and interaction skills. As such, many centers have come up that offer this kind of intervention and hospitals have also come together to provide this kind of treatment. The autism treatment network has provided a very good platform for mothers with children who exhibit autism symptoms for treatment. This is a chain of hospitals that have come together to provide a state of the art treatment in autism in America. It would be better to take an autistic child to one of these where they would also meet other children to relate with and develop their social skills. The following some of the activities that autistic patients are taken through to help improve their skills: They are allowed and given the opportunity to interact with children their age to develop their social skills. Identification of the child’s autistic problem and the problem is addressed in particular. It is important to note that different patients with autism exhibit varied symptoms of autism. This means that each child will require specialized attention on the particular symptoms that he or she is experiencing. Conclusion Summarily, patients with autism require to be shown lots of love and support by the people around them. This will help them to open up to the rest of the world. Parents should not hide autistic children as this is likely to worsen their conditions. Works Cited Carrie, Fredricks. Autism. New York: Cengage, 2008. Edwards, Michelle. Autism. Washington DC: Lucent Books, 2001. Freedman, Jeri. Autism. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2008. Fuentes, Carolyn. Autism. Chicago: Lulu.com, 2008. Mignano, Regina. Autism: A holistic view. New York: Regina Varin-Mignano, 2008. Pat, Levitt. Autism. Chicago: Infobase Publishing, 2010. Read More