Effects Of Prenatal Genetic Testing For Autism

The primary cause of ASD is an idiopathic process and so cannot identify the precise disease mechanism. ASD is a progressive disease and is characteristically diagnosed during early childhood and can persist throughout an individual lifetime, needing lifetime specialist support with functional impairment (John Hopkins, 2014). Studies has shown that as an individual diagnosed with ASD grows they have an significantly increased risk of developing medical and psychiatric disorders which is contributed from the biological make-up of the individual (Perkins et al, 2012) including dyslipidaemia, gastrointestinal problem, epilepsy hearing, visual impairments, asthma, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and autoimmune

There is much controversy around the issue of genetic testing. These controversial issues range from being "unnatural" or against god 's will. There are several different ways to tests genetics but they all have one thing in common: they test for changes or mutations in chromosomes, genes, and proteins. These tests can provide answers for many families who want to know whether their children have become inflicted with a condition due to their family 's genetics, the health of the mother during the gestational period, or by some strange twist of the unknown. Despite all of the controversy, Genetic Testing is acceptable for determining whether an unborn child is at risk of developing a debilitating and/or deadly condition, relieving the worry of parents, and preemptively treating any condition that the child may have.

Studies has shown that as an individual diagnosed with ASD grows they have an significantly increased risk of developing medical and psychiatric disorders which is contributed from the biological make-up of the individual (perkins et al, 2012) including dyslipidaemia gastrointestinal problem epilepsy hearing and visual impairments asthma hypertension heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. and autoimmune conditions throughout a varied age group (Croen et al, 2014).

In 2013 DSM-5 was published and the information within this publication has changed greatly in relation to possible ASD diagnoses. DSM-5 has removed the indicators of cognitive delay and language delay from diagnoses, and that they are in fact markers of intellectual impairment, which 40% of children with an ASD

The recognition and diagnosis of ASD continues to increase, cited by a greater general awareness of the disorder and ability of those

As technology is improving, there is becoming more of a debate for if parents should get their kids genetically tested. There are three reasons why you shouldn’t, it produces anxiety, finds unknown information, and it can find incurable diseases.

Children with ASD appear to experience sensory problems, leading to high pain tolerance and auditory hypersensitivity. They also may present “sensory seeking behaviors,” where they will crash, squeeze, spin, or flap (Solomon & Chung, 2012). Other than the symptom categories that may be checked off in the DSM-V, these children may also have food allergies, immune system dysregulation, sleep disturbances, and seizures. According to the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, ASD’s prevalence in 2010 was 14.7%, with about 1 in 68 children being identified with ASD (CDC, 2014). While ASD has been reported to occur within all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups, it is almost 5 times more common in boys (1 in 42) than among girls (1 in 189) (CDC, 2014). Autism can be detected at 18 months old or younger but by age 2, a diagnosis of ASD is considered to be very reliable. However, many children are not fortunate enough to receive an early-diagnosis or their correct final diagnosis until they are much older than 2 years old, which then delays them from receiving the help they need.

One of the issues in the search for an ASD biomarker is the heterogeneity of the condition. ASD contains a broad spectrum with individuals diagnosed located anywhere from low to high functioning. Additionally, the position that individual is placed on the spectrum is not static and an individual may move within the spectrum throughout their life. Furthermore, ASD is often described by the negative attributes of the condition such as social impairments and stereotypically behaviors instead of some of the more positive attributes such as incessant interests, attention to detail, unusual memory, and ability to identify patterns. The research into ASD has brought to light a debate regarding whether it is a difference or a disability. Research

If you were to meet someone who off the top of their head could recite, “all the countries in the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7057,” what would you think of them? I am sure you would be thinking, “WOW, this person is a genius”. The last thing you would probably think is that this person has a developmental disorder. This person however has the fastest growing developmental disorder in the world… Autism. People don’t realize that someone with Autism can be brilliant and have a lot to contribute to the world. Society views people with Autism as outsiders. This attitude needs to change. Autistic people are able to do some amazing things that the world will miss out on if we continue to have negative attitudes toward Autism.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neuro-developmental disorders that are categorized by complications in social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restrictive, repetitive, stereotyped behavior. Because reports suggest that ASD may arise in children during a time of early brain development, symptoms of ASD can be seen in children as young as 18 months (2). Most recent statistics from the CDC report that 1 in 68 children- a 30% increase from the previous rate- have been diagnosed with ASD and 1 in 45 in New Jersey. The causes of ASD are not well understood, but scientists agree that genetics, epigenetics, and environment may all play a significant role. Although determining the genetic causes of autism has been a daunting

Autism spectrum disorder is said to affect tens of millions of individuals worldwide (Autism Speaks, 2014, p.01). Additionally, government autism statistics suggest that prevalence rates have increased ten to seventeen percent annually in recent years (Autism Speaks, 2014, p.01). The prevalence is the number of cases of a condition that exists at a particular time in a defined population (Hall, 2013, p.04). The prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has significantly increased since 2003 to rates as high as 1 in 68 in children and 1 in 102 in adults (Cheak- Zamora and Teti, 2014, p.02). There is no established explanation for this

Some would argue that genetic testing should not be a standard test because they don’t want to falsely worry about a genetic disorder, they may never materialize. There is a possibility that an individual after being tested will find out that they are not a candidate for a certain genetic disease, and it may actually be a source of relief. Depending on the outcome of the test, the individual will at least have an opportunity to prepare the next steps of their lives. Once you have a genetic test done, you will have the knowledge of whether or not you even have a genetic

Although genetic testing should be mandated by the insurance company for lowering the risk of any disorder or disease an individual, it shouldn't serve as a ground for injustice with respect to offering health care benefits, coverages or premium charges or result to be hired or fired by the employer.

When such a condition is detected, or highly suspected, what then? According to Farrell et al., (2014) physicians are most concerned with the ethical issue of pregnancy termination. In the case of Down Syndrome, this is with good cause. A systemic review by Natoli, Ackerman, McDermott and Edwards (2012) found a weighted mean termination rate following a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome was 67%, with a range of 61% - 93%. The evidence they presented suggested that termination rates varied according to maternal age, race, and gestational age. (These variances alone open another ethical can of worms). But one can see, after only brief examination of this one genetic screen, why physicians, and society in general, should be concerned. There is no concensus regarding whether or not pregnancy termination is ethical in and of itself, let alone when one decides to terminate due to knowledge of specific genetic markers or

There are both pros and cons to genetic screening and the underlying question is. Is genetic screening an ethical solution to human life? A person who is having, carrying, or is at risk of a disorder is subject to genetic testing. Pre-natal diagnosis for a genetic condition is available in the case of diseases like Down's syndrome. The increasing range of genetic tests for an increasing range of disorders made possible by human genome research offers parents much greater informed choice of whether or not to continue with a pregnancy. Pre-natal diagnosis have a major effect on individuals and their families with a history of a genetic disorder. Known genetic traits or conditions (such as colour blindness) have been screened for many years.