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Autism



What Is Autism?

Autism is a restricted behavior and unsocialinteraction that is transformed into adevelopmental disorder. It starts to appearin the first 3 years of a child’s life and forrest of their life being. Children who haveautism often have delayed languagedevelopment. They usually have trouble with social interactions. Anothercharacteristic of autism is what some peopledescribe as "sensory overload": meaningsounds seem louder, lights brighter, orsmells harder. Not everybody with autismhave the exact same symptoms, some may have autism that are mild. Meaning that noteveryone with autism has it the same, somehave it more serve. This disorder affects

people differently; medical professionalscall it a spectrum disorder. Two people withthe same spectrum disorder may not actalike or have the same skills. People with Asperser syndrome and milder forms of autism can have normal intellectualcapabilities, and some are of above averageintelligence. However, many people with

autism have significant intellectualdisabilities.



Myths and Facts

Autism myths and misconceptions are that it’s a behavior, emotional, mental health disorder.

Fact: autism related disorders are developmental disabilities disorders.

Myth: All people with an autism spectrum disorder have "savant skills", like Dustin Hoffman's character in "RainMan".

Fact: Most people with autism spectrum disorders do not have any special savant skills. Some have "splinterskills", areas of high performance that are not consistent with other skill levels.

Myth: Kids with autism are all retarded.

Fact: some kids with autism are diagnosed mentally retarded. So are millions of people without autism. Many kids with autism have normal or above-average intelligence. In fact, most kids with Asperser syndrome haveat least normal intelligence and very often have quite high IQs.

Myth: Kids with autism don't speak.

Fact: some do, some don't. Some children with very involved autism never speak, and some never seem to bequiet. Children with Asperser syndrome often have very advanced verbal skills and extensive vocabularies,and many kids with autism speak later than their "typical" peers but do learn to speak and hold intelligentconversations as well as anyone else.



Who Is The DSM?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standardclassification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the UnitedStates. It is intended to be applicable in a wide array of contexts and used by cliniciansand researchers of many different orientations.

Axis I: Clinical Syndromes: This is what we typically think of as the diagnosis (e.g.,depression, schizophrenia, social phobia)

Axis II: Developmental Disorders and Personality Disorders

Developmental disorders include autism and mental retardation, disorders which aretypically first evident in childhood

Personality disorders are clinical syndromes in which have a more long lasting symptoms

and encompass the individual's way of interacting with the world. They includeParanoid, Antisocial, and Borderline Personality Disorders.

Axis III: Physical Conditions which play a role in the development, continuance, or exacerbation of Axis I and II Disorders

Physical conditions such as brain injury or HIV/AIDS that can result in symptoms of mentalillness are included here.

Axis IV: Severity of Psychosocial Stressors

Events in a person’s life, such as death of a loved one, starting a new job, college,unemployment, and even marriage can impact the disorders listed in Axis I and II.These events are both listed and rated for this axis.

Axis V: Highest Level of Functioning

On the final axis, the clinician rates the person's level of functioning both at the present timeand the highest level within the previous year. This helps the clinician understand howthe above four axes are affecting the person and what type of changes could beexpected.

This is a specific system called Axis use to show in what stage your mental disorder is



Some children show signs of autism in early infancy. Other childrenmay develop normally for the first few months or years of life butthen suddenly become withdrawn, become aggressive or loselanguage skills they've already had. A diagnosis of autistic disorderis made when an individual displays 6 or more of 12 symptomslisted across three major areas: social interaction, communication,and behavior. When children display similar behaviors but do notmeet the criteria for autistic disorder, they may receive a diagnosisof Pervasive Developmental Disorder-NOS (PDD not otherwise

specified). Examples:

Social skill

Fails to respond to his or her name

Has poor eye contact

Appears not to hear you at times

Resists cuddling and holding

Appears unaware of others' feelings

Seems to prefer playing alone — retreats into his or her "own world"

Language

Starts talking later than age 2, and has other developmental delays by

30 months

Loses previously acquired ability to say words or sentences

Doesn't make eye contact when making requests

Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm — may use a singsong voice

or robot-like speech

Can't start a conversation or keep one going

May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to

use them

Behavior

Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand-

flapping

Diagnosis and Symptoms



Prognosis

Although there is no cure for autism they canhave some helpful treatment and education,many children with the disorder can learnand develop. It is difficult to determineduring the first visit of a 1 to 2-year-oldchild what his future ability will be. Early intervention often can reduce challengesassociated with the disorder, lessendisruptive behavior, and provide somedegree of independence. Most children withautism lack social support, meaningfulrelationships, future employmentopportunities or self-determination,although core difficulties tend to persist,symptoms often become less severe withage. Few high-quality studies address long-term prognosis. Some adults show modestimprovement in communication skills, but a

few decline. Treatment depends on theindividual needs of the patient. In mostcases, a combination of treatment methodsis more effective. Autism usually requireslifelong treatment.



Etiology There is no known single cause for autism, but it is generally

accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in brainstructure or function. Brain scans show differences inthe shape and structure of the brain in children withautism versus neuro-typical children. Researchers areinvestigating a number of theories, including the link

between heredity, genetics and medical problems. Inmany families, there appears to be a pattern of autismor related disabilities, further supporting a genetic basisto the disorder. While no one gene has been identifiedas causing autism, researchers are searching forirregular segments of genetic code that children with

autism may have inherited. It also appears that somechildren are born with a susceptibility to autism, butresearchers have not yet identified a single "trigger" thatcauses autism to develop. Other researchers areinvestigating the possibility that under certainconditions, a cluster of unstable genes may interfere

with brain development, resulting in autism. Still otherresearchers are investigating problems duringpregnancy or delivery as well as environmental factors,such as viral infections, metabolic imbalances, andexposure to environmental chemicals. Genetic

Vulnerability Autism tends to occur more frequently than expected among individuals who have certainmedical conditions, including Fragile X syndrome,tuberous sclerosis, congenital rubella syndrome, anduntreated phenylketonuria (PKU). Some harmfulsubstances ingested during pregnancy also have beenassociated with an increased risk of autism.



Prevalence

. Autism is part of a group of disorders calledautism spectrum disorders (ASDs), alsoknown as pervasive developmentaldisorders. ASDs range in severity, withautism being the most debilitating form while other disorders, such as Aspersersyndrome, produce milder symptoms.

Estimating the prevalence of autism is difficultand controversial due to differences in the ways that cases are identified and defined,

differences in study methods, and changesin diagnostic criteria. A recent study reported the prevalence of autism in 3-10 year-olds to be about 3.4 cases per 1000children.

Autism and other ASDs develop in childhoodand generally are diagnosed by age three.

Autism is about four times more common in boys than girls. Girls with the disorder,

however, tend to have more severesymptoms and greater cognitiveimpairment.

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