Takng a Look at Autism

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

References Altern, J. (2006). Abnormally High Plasma Levels of Vitamin 6 in Children with Autism Not Taking Supplements Compared to Controls not Taking Supplements. US National Library of Medicine. National Institute of Health. Complement Med, 12 (1), 59-63.

Before completing the assignment of reading “Thinking in Pictures,” by Temple Grandin, I did not have much knowledge about autism. My only understanding was autism was some sort of neurological disorder that is seen similar to mentally handicapped individuals to someone with little understanding, like myself. I am very thankful to have been given an assignment like this one that gives me more knowledge of something I should already have in my line of work (though I am sure that was the whole purpose of the assignment, to educate the ignorant). I now have a better understanding of the cause, learning process and functioning of different levels of this defect.

Autism Spectrum Disorder. ASD. Autism. When people hear any of these, it’s either “avoid that person at all costs”, “be super sympathetic”, “pretend to be their friend” or “I have no idea what that is”. My best friend and illustrator of my second book, has no idea what autism is. I tried explaining it to her. It’s very hard to explain how you feel, first of all. To put the fact that you are autistic makes it even more difficult. It doesn’t bother me too much that she doesn’t know. As long as she knows that I truly am a good person, we’re good.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders, characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. There is more classification of Autism that is based on the severity of symptom. Childhood disintegrative disorder, also known as Heller 's syndrome is a rare condition characterized by a late onset of developmental delays in language, social function, and motor skills. Asperger Syndrome is a developmental disorder related to autism and characterized by higher than average intellectual ability coupled with impaired social skills and restrictive, repetitive patterns of interest and activities. Atypical Autism is the term used when the person has symptoms but don’t have all the symptoms to diagnose Autism. Atypical autism usually differs from autism in terms either of age of onset or of failure to fulfill all three sets of autism diagnostic criteria.

Autism has become an increasingly important public health concern as the number of yearly diagnoses of the disorder has increased since the late 20th century. The National Institute of Health estimates that 1 in 88 children in the United States are classified as having an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) (NINDS, 2009), a genetic neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs children 's ability to learn and causes issues with social interaction and communication. Symptoms of ASD include delays in speech and language, issues with social interaction, and unusual behaviors/routines.

While there are many theories there is no single cause of autism. One theory assumes multiple factors interacting in complex ways (i.e. genes, environment and brain) can cause autism. Genetics play a role but do not explain the full picture or the recent increase in reported cases. According to Volkmar and Weisner (2009), "Identical twins have identical genes, while fraternal twins share only some genes. The implication of this finding was that there was potentially a very strong genetic contribution in autism. A number of studies have shown that this is the case. " (p. 26). There are medical conditions associated with autism which include, phenylketonuria, congenital rubella, tuberous sclerosis, and Fragile X. The strongest associations are with Fragile X, a genetic condition causing intellectual disability and tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in many different organs, primarily in the brain, eyes, heart. There is no strong evidence that environmental etologies cause autism. Some researchers assume that environmental toxins can increase the rate of autism, but evidence proposed for environmental factors is based on a case by case report which is difficult to interpret (Volkmar & Weisner,

Parents try their best to keep their children from getting hurt or sick, but no matter how hard they try, sometimes something will always go wrong. We cannot avoid all uncertainties; Autism is among one of these uncertainties that parents try their best to avoid. According to the center for disease control One out of every one hundred and fifty children are born with autism each year in America, that is one percent of American children with autism, eighty percent of which are male and about forty to twenty percent of females (CDC). One point five million children have already been living with this diagnosis, of autism long before the media brought into public attention, so as the rise of autism increases it is also important that the knowledge of autism increase.

I decided to write about Autism and what it is all about. It is something that is on the rise and that is a huge part of the ECE world. Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both of the terms used for disorders of brain development. These disorders are different; there are different degrees to this brain development, like problems in social interactions, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors. Autism disorders were merged into one. ASD is sometimes associated with intellectual disabilities, difficulties in motor coordination, difficulties with attention and physical health issues such as sleep like I said above and stomach issues, usually caused by anxiety due to autism. Some of the time people with autism excel in visual skills, music, math and art. The reason for these excels it because children with autism are way more organized and pay attention to every detail. This topic is interesting to me because of all of the reasons it can occur I want to know more about its attributes and complications. I want to know more about autism so I can be successful in my career if I work with these children. Children with autism get stuck on one subject and they need extra time to process things, I want to know why that happens and if there are any ways to help with it. Autism statistics

I walk for autism Speaks because I am the mother of a child on the autism spectrum. I walk to raise awareness and to help other families find resources and support like we have found. Our son Austin is 2.5 years old, nonverbal, and diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Austin was a happy baby and was advanced at meeting all his milestones during the first year, even learning to talk. We quickly noticed what we know now as his first sign of autism, he would never respond to his name. Then he began to show unusual behaviors such as toe walking, self harm, repetitive behaviors, and stimming. His pediatrician assured us he was fine. At around 16-18 months old he not only stopped learning new words he lost all the words he once knew and became nonverbal. Finally his

Although autism has spread globally, scientists continue conducting research to identify the precise causes. More specifically, they are zeroing in on genetic mutations, brain chemistry abnormalities, and maternal factors. One possible cause that can lead to autism is genetic mutations. First of all, families studies indicate that children can affected by autism through heredity. It is true that children inherited some characteristics from their parents. This is because a chromosome of a child produced by one chromosome father and the other one from mother, which formed as DNA. As a matter of fact, if parents have some genetic disease, they can pass it to the offspring through DNA. In same way, because autism is a genetic disorder, it can pass down generation. In fact, according to Cowley (2000), the prevalence of having autistic child is 5% of family who already has this disorder, which means around 25 times the normal average. Clearly, inheriting autism through families result in increasing the number of autistic children in the population. Another evidence shows that autism can caused by inheriting genetic disorder is through conducting twins studies. There are two types of twins. First one is identical twins, which formed by splitting one fertilized egg and then developed in two babies. Therefore, they are sharing the same genetic codes. However, this different from fraternal twins who do not share the same genetic information because they are formed by two

I believe I will gain a lot through interacting with my learner, which will give me a better perspective on autism. I have a lot to give as well. Some of my strengths are that I am patient and I believe that is a positive asset in bonding with the child. I am very optimistic and motivated which makes me love doing what I do. I am punctual; and always arrive at where I am supposed to be on time or even earlier. Lastly, I am viewed friendly, as well sensitive to the needs of others. I as well have a strong desire to help improve the ability of the children with autism to lead more productive and fulfilling

Genes are believed to be a crucial component in the circumstance of Autism. In an article by Marina Sarris, an Autism researcher, this subject is explained in more detail. Twins are more likely to both be diagnosed with Autism rather than fraternal twins, who are

First off there is something that needs to be made clear and that is what non-verbal is defined as: “Without the spoken word: includes gestures, facial expressions, and body positions (known collectively as “body language”), as well as unspoken understandings and presuppositions, and cultural and environmental conditions that may affect any encounter between people” (Dictonary.com). This is important to comprehend to understand the importance of other forms of communication, such as sign language. The article Auditory-Motor Mapping Training as an Intervention to Facilitate Speech Output in Non- Verbal Children with Autism: A Proof of Concept study, written by Catherine Y. Wan and many others, talks about how “communication deficits represent

Through twin studies, scientists have determined that autism is a genetically based condition. If one identical twin has autism then there is a high chance that the other twin will also be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For non-identical twins, the chance is very low compared to identical twins, that both twins will develop autism spectrum