Language Impairment Of Children With Autism

In the early 1900’s autism was a completely misunderstood concept and any child who was living with it was assumed to be living with “childhood schizophrenia” and developed much slower than children without autism. A four year study of Donald Triplett gave Dr. Kannar a better understanding of what autism was and what it caused certain people to do. The main question was, does it affect the child’s development? Living with autism can affect a child’s development due to the fact that they don’t have a long attention span, can cause them to have a repetitive behavior, along with trouble in social situations whether it be verbal or non verbal.

In the field of speech language pathology, children may come onto a caseload with an identification of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. About 0.5 to 3 in every 1,000 live births is a child impaired by maternal alcohol use during pregnancy. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder has a strong correlation with language delays and language impairments. This research paper will review the relationship between fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and language delays or impairments.

Autism spectrum disorders are a class of developmental disorders that impair social skills, behavior, and communication (Center for Disease Control). ASDs are considered ‘spectrum’ disorders because each patient has a unique experience in the nature and severity of their symptoms (Center for Disease Control). Under the umbrella of ASDs, there are three types of disorders, including Autistic disorder, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (Center for Disease Control). Autistic disorder is the most severe of the three, and patients exhibit significant problems with language, communication, and behavior (Center for Disease Control). Furthermore, people with Autistic disorder often have some intellectual impairment (Center for Disease Control). Asperger Syndrome is a milder form of autistic disorder where patients have some developmental delays, but their language and intellect are not affected (Center for Disease Control). The mildest of the ASDs is the pervasive developmental disorder. These patients usually don’t meet all of the criteria for autistic disorder, but do show some signs of social and communication problems (Center for Disease Control). The number of children diagnosed with ASD is growing, and currently 1 in 88 children fall somewhere on the spectrum (Mari-Bauset et al., 2013). Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism, and while the exact cause of these disorders is unknown, both genetic and

Autism is a brain disorder that is characterized by slow and difficult comprehension of spoken and non-verbal communication and repetition of behaviors. Autism is normally noticed in the first two years of a child (Myers & Johnson, 2007). Asperger syndrome is an autistic disorder that has almost the same similarities with autism. People with Asperger syndrome have little comprehension of the world and its surroundings and poor communication with other people. People with Asperger syndrome are hard to recognize, as they do not show on their outward appearances. They are average or above average intellectually and have fewer problems in terms of speech and specific learning disabilities unlike in autism. These difficulties include dyslexia, epilepsy, and attention

Symptoms of Fetal Alcohol syndrome are present not only at birth, but also during gestation. Low prenatal growth, and birth weight are common primary signs. A small head, small eye openings, droopy eye lids, a short upturned nose, thin upper lip, and small jaw are just some of the many physical abnormalities that can occur with chronic drinking. The physical birth defects are devastating yet just as much damage is unseen by the naked eye. Central nervous system defects such as Mental Retardation and behavior disorders can be seen. Poor concentration, impulsiveness and lack of judgment have a severe impact on the child's overall development. Children with behavior problems also do worse than normal children in school. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome children have problems paying attention, score lower in mathematics and spelling, and have lower I.Q scores. Not only do these defects get worse as the child ages, the vicious cycle of alcohol abuse is also very likely to continue. Fetal Alcohol syndrome children are more likely to become alcohol dependant adults than children of mothers who did not drink. All the devastating disabilities last a lifetime. Early and accurate diagnosis of Fetal Alcohol

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a general term consist disabilities when a mother consumes alcohol during her pregnancy. The medical prognosis of FASD includes: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS), Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) and Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD). Moreover, teratogen is a harmful agent that can interrupt the development of an embryo. For instance, alcohol is teratogen. As per Health Canada, FASD is a leading cause of a completely avertable developmental disability but it still affects approximately one percent of the Canadian population (Batshaw, Roizen & Lotrecchiano, 2012). However, there are many alterations to the disabilities and the development of sub-groups. Thereby, the term FASD is introduced to ensure the incidence of all the characteristics (mental, behavioral and physical) associated with prenatal exposure to alcohol. The exposure to alcohol during the pregnancy places the infant at the risk of developing problems such as abnormal appearance, low body weight, poor coordination, low intelligence, facial abnormalities, neuropsychological deficits, central nervous system deficits and growth delays (Riley, Infante & Warren, 2011). As the paper progress, we will discuss the characteristics, causes and the epidemiology of FASD. In addition we will all focus on the mental disorder such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) associated with FASD and a

To clearly distinguish a child as having FAS poses a difficult thing for researchers. They soon began to realize that they were encountering children with some, but not all the classical signs of FAS. Because a diagnosis of FAS demands the presence of all three hallmarks, (growth deficiency, central nervous system dysfunction, and

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) refers to the physical and mental disabilities or abnormalities resulting from maternal alcohol use while fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or partial FAS refer to other abnormalities such as social, sensory, or behavioral. The uniformity of FASD is utilized to include those suffering from substantial impairment to include not only those with FAS but also comprising alcohol neuro-developmental disorder (ARND) and/or alcohol related birth defects (ARBD). Estimates suggest that individuals having the complete range of partial FAS or ARBD equates to “at least 10 in 1000…translating to 40,000 children born every year…and far more common than other more well known developmental disabilities, such as Down syndrome and autism”

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) are identified as a category of birth disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. These can include physical or intellectual anomalies, such as cardiac, skeletal, visual, aural, and fine or gross motor problems. (Callanan, 2013) Prevention would involve alcohol use prevention programs for women who are pregnant, and treatment for FAS and FASD would be aimed at helping those affected realize their full potential through both family and individual interventions. While there is no cure for FAS or FASD, appropriate treatments can aide individuals with these diagnoses to minimize the effects.

Pre-natal alcohol exposure is an established cause of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), which is now recognized as the most common preventable cause of mental impairment in North America (Popova et al., 2013). Individuals with FASD experience a wide range of neurological and psychological disabilities caused by permanent brain alterations (Petrenko et al., 2014). The adverse health outcomes that arise from FASD have lifelong implications and pose a significant burden on the Canadian health care system (Popova et al., 2013). From a public health perspective, FASD presents a unique and complex challenge due to the specialized needs of those diagnosed with FASD, and the complexities of maternal alcohol use.

Approximately one-fourth of all infants born with recognizable defects die before they even reach the age of four weeks (Abel & Sokol, 1986, p. 330). Among those who do survive past the first few weeks, it has been noted that ". . . only a suspicion [of fetal alcohol syndrome) can be raised at this early age" (Aronson & Olegard, 1985, p. 137). Thus, the real impact of fetal alcohol syndrome often cannot be determined until the infant's development has been observed for at least one to two years. Some studies have indicated that the results of tests administered to learning disabled children at the age of three tend to yield similar results to those of tests given to the same children at the ages of ten months and eighteen months (Aronson & Olegard, 1985, p. 143). However, it has also been stated that many of the most serious learning disabilities associated with the syndrome cannot be recognized until after the child has already begun attending school (Abel & Sokol, 1986, p.

In 1996, the United States Institue of Medicine published Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment. The book created four diagnostic categories for disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. They were: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS), Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) and Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ARND)(Stratton,1996). The differences between the disorders include the types of defects expressed and whether or not maternal alcohol consumption is confirmed. For example, ARND is characterized by intellectual disabilities and behavior and learning problems in the absence of physical defects. ARBD, on the other hand, lacks apparent neurobehavioral or brain disorders, but physical defects linked to prenatal alcohol exposure are present. (NOFAS)

In the article “Fetal Alcohol Syndrome- A Birth Defect Recognized Worldwide,” by Kerstin Stromland used strong clinical evidence supported by various studies to bring attention to the fact that alcohol consumed during pregnancy severely damages the neurological and physiological development of the child.

School-age children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have complex clinical profiles and often struggle to socially communicate in effective and successful ways (Coggins, Olswang, Carmichael Olson, & Timler, 2003). It has been estimated that elementary school–age students may spend up to one-quarter to one-half of their school day engaged in paper-and-pencil tasks, which include handwriting (McHale & Cermak, 1992). Difficulties with handwriting can affect many aspects of a child’s participation in class. For example, poor handwriting can increase frustration with and avoidance of classroom tasks, thereby negatively influencing behavior (Kern & Bambara, 2002).

The topic chosen is the effect of exposure to alcohol prenatally on brain development. This topic is important because fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) have had an estimated prevalence of 1 in 100 and represent the top source of avoidable developmental disability in North America (Treit et al., 2013). Many children diagnosed with a disorder of this type experience many developmental delays and fall behind there peers both cognitively and socially.