Autism Spectrum Disorder

Equine-assisted therapy (EAT) started before the 1960 's. Equine-assisted therapy is most known for the chance to help physically disabled people recover movement in their limbs. Another big role equine-assisted therapy contributes to therapy is throughout helping kids with autism or any other psychological condition. Specifically, people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) benefit the most from it. Throughout equine-assisted therapy, autistic children can begin to trust, communicate, connect, and bond with

Autism is the main form of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Autism is a developmental disorder that is manifested in problems with communication, impairment of social functioning, and repetitive behaviours. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V), ASD diagnoses must meet four different areas of criteria. There are three symptoms of "deficits in social communication and interaction across contexts," four symptoms of "restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities," "symptoms must be present in early childhood," and the symptoms must "together limit and impair everyday functioning" (Carpenter, 2013). There are many theoretical positions on the causes of autism spectrum disorders. Some of which have been discounted by empirical studies that have been researched and performed.

Many of us have heard about Autism, also knows as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Some have a family member, a friend, or know someone who has ASD. Increasingly it is becoming a more common disability. “Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S” (Autism Speaks). Autism has no respect for gender, race, social class and or ethnicity. “Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that involves abnormal development and function of the brain.” (Autism Center of Excellence) People who have autism have a lot of difficulties with social skills, communication and also will develop behavior issues. These behavior problems of an individual with autism can vary at times and can go from mild to severe. According to the Autism Science Foundation it says,” Many people with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) also have unusual ways of learning, paying attention, and reacting to different sensations. The thinking and learning abilities of people with ASD can vary—from gifted to severely challenged.” The causes and symptoms, as well as the diagnosis, and the treatments of autism vary.

According to the 2014 estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 68 children have been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD); a rate that has been steadily growing over the past 20 years (National Autism Association, 2015). Increases in reported frequencies for ASD are most likely due to a combination of factors including broader diagnostic criteria and increased awareness as well as a true increase in the number of people with ASD (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Autism it self does not effect life expectancy and, in general, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can expect to live as long as the non-cognitively impaired population (National Autism Association,

Statistical evidences. ASD’s gender proportion suggests that the autism is sex-linked, and the statistical evidence convincingly shows that genetic factors are playing key role in the prevalence of ASD. To begin with, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published the relationship between the number of autistic boys and girls. The statistical evidence shows that boys are more inclined to become autistic than girls. CDC states that 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls were identified as having ASD. This observation shows that ASD is likely a sex-linked inheritance. Sex-liked inheritance is defined as a pattern of inheritance characteristic of genes located on the sex chromosomes of organisms having a chromosomal mechanism for sex determination (Sadava et al., 2014). If the ASD was sex-linked inheritance, the ratio between male and female exhibiting the phenotype would result in 3 to 1 under the normal curve. The ratio between boy and girl is approximately 5 to 1, which shows that there is a strong association between sex-linked inheritance and ASD. For this reason, it is reasonable to conclude that ASD is primarily influenced by the genetic factor, which is prenatal.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is considered one of the most challenging symptoms to deal with. Per the National Institute of Neurological Disorder and Stroke, ASD showed high percentage among children of age eight year old. One of every eighty-eight child has ASD while boys are four times higher than girls at the same age group [1]. It is important to mention that ASD is highly researched in North America, Europe, and Asia [2]. Yet, the Middle East does not have as much research in the ASD area. Being from the Middles East, one was surprised the importance of ASD and the challenges that parents, caregivers, and teachers have to face when dealing with students who are diagnosed with ASD.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that is characterized by abnormalities relating to social, behavioral, cognitive and language skills. The genetic architecture of ASD is comprised of a variety of rare mutations. These mutations include monogenic conditions involving autistic symptoms. Furthermore, single nucleotide variants and de novo copy number variants add to disease susceptibility.

The number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders, commonly abbreviated as ASDs, is gradually increasing. Today, about one in sixty-eight children have been diagnosed with one of these four disorders, which is a huge increase from one in one hundred fifty, as seen in 2000 (“Data & Statistics” 1). ASDs often coincide with other developmental, psychiatric, neurological, chromosomal, and genetic diagnosis, such as an intellectual disability, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, Down syndrome, or cystic fibrosis (“Data & Statistics” 1). The four different types of ASDs are autistic disorder, also known as classical autism, Asperger’s syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS),

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder? Austismspeaks.org states that, “ASD is a general term to define a complex brain development disorder and is a pervasive development disorder (PDD)”. Autism is a debilitating neurological handicap in children. According to the ISRN Nutrition data, approximately 1 out of 54 boys and 1 out of 252 girls were identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) [6]. A child who has ASD has a difficult time adapting to their social environment. Not only does ASD have an impact on this child’s life but also their surrounding social environment such as family and friends. ASD is characterized as manifesting itself with various effects and to various degrees. It can be diagnosed from social

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a continuum disorder in which symptoms usually arise in early-childhood. Some individuals with ASD will display mild symptoms, while other individuals with ASD may display more severe symptoms, the spectrum aspect of autism causes this widespread diagnosis. Recognizing the spectrum disorder as a whole, and continually focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual child’s development across all areas, is one of the many difficult factors of ASD. Among other deficits, communication deficits are especially prevalent for many individuals diagnosed with ASD. Some individuals are considered nonverbal or mostly nonverbal, while others may struggle solely with social communication, others still may not have any difficulty communicating with other individuals (DSM-5, 2016).

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a term used to describe a category of conditions also referred to as pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). Some of the PDD include: Autism or Autistic Disorder, Rett’s Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder---Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) which includes Atypical Autism (Yapko, 2003). These disorders affect three primary areas of development. First is communication, which is verbal and nonverbal. Second there is social interaction. Lastly, there is repetitive patterns of behavior. Children with Asperger’s may not always get along with other children around them. They tend to asphyxiate themselves with one hobby, and learn everything there is to know about it. All of the disorders mentioned can be grouped together under a single heading: Pervasive Developmental Disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).

Autism defines as a developmental disability affecting verbal, and non-verbal communication and social interaction. Many experts estimated that 1 out of 68 children are diagnosed with autism and researchers are not sure about what causes it? There are numerous treatment to support children with autism but there is no known cure (Mash and Wolfe, 2015). In article,"The Kid Who Beat Autism", Ruth Padawer states that autism can be cured with A.B.A therapy whereas "The Kid Who Don 't Beat Autism" Joel Yanofsky refers that autism cannot be cured. I believe it depends upon an individual. One patient can significantly develop while other remains the same. Both articles helped me to draw a conclusion for my claim. As Padawer mentioned B who was the patient of Autism recovered with the help of ABA therapy. According to the Yanofsky, Matthew who recieved the same therapy as B did not recovered.

In 1943, Leo Kanner, an Australian-American psychiatrist, was the first to coin the term “infantile autism” based on observations made in a study. Kanner observed 11 children with communication problems and repetitive behaviors, such as rocking, sucking, and lack of social interactions. The cause of Autism is still unknown to researchers, although researchers believe that genes and environment formulate a big contribution to the cause.

Autism spectrum disorder, ASD, is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized in the DSM-5 by early-onset, persistent social communication and interaction deficits and restricted patterns of repetitive behaviour that significantly impair important areas of functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Many treatments have been proposed to help reduce symptoms associated with ASD. However, very few of these treatments have presented convincing etiological backgrounds or been supported by empirical evidence (Bowker, D’Angelo, Hicks & Wells, 2011). This is particularly troubling given the profound negative effects associated with this diagnosis and the desperation for a cure or effective treatment that is often felt by the caregivers of

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder characterised by a triad of impairments in social interaction, communication and repetitive behaviour and restricted interest. This spectrum is observed to affect three times more males than females (Hill, 2004). ASD is a syndrome that Leo Kanner first explained while observing the behaviour of children he was researching. He describes that they had particular traits such as the inability to establish social relatedness with other people, failure to use language normally for communication and an obsessive desire for sameness (Frith, 1989).