1 year, 10 months ago
via health-qna.com
I would really be interested in learning more about Autism. I hear it discussed all the time, but what exactly is it?
Is Autism a mental/emotional disability, or are there physical ramifications too? I have friends with this disability, but mostly communicate with them online. That's why I'm not sure. Are they more prone to illness? I know there is also a spectrum of Autism. I'm really interested in learning anything I can about this. Thanks
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Autism is a disorder that usually starts during the first couple years of a child's life. It's a neurological disorder that affects the brain, commonly interferring with social skills and communication skills. There are five Pervasive Developmental Disorders which are characterized by "severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development", and autism is one such disorder. Many children with autism are particularly focused on one thing and are good in one area.
About 1.5 million children have been diagnosed with autism and occurs in 1 in 100 births. There are no racial, social, ethnical boundries. Any family can be affected by autism and autism is growing by the rate of 10 to 17 percent per year, which translates to over 4 million cases of autism possible in the United States over the next 10 years.
http://www.helpyourautisticchildblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/autism.jpg
About 1.5 million children have been diagnosed with autism and occurs in 1 in 100 births. There are no racial, social, ethnical boundries. Any family can be affected by autism and autism is growing by the rate of 10 to 17 percent per year, which translates to over 4 million cases of autism possible in the United States over the next 10 years.
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I did a little research about autism because I have two friends whose children are both autistic and I am curious what it is exactly and second I want to know more facts so that I can share this with them.
Autism spectrum disorder or ASD covers a range of complex neurodevelopmental disorders which are characterized by social impairments, difficulty in communicating, and restricted and repetitive as well as stereotype patterns of behavior. We went outing together with our friends and and their family and we notice the son of my friend who has sweeping the grounds repeatedly. He does not speak and he was 6 at that time. It took him 3 hours before he stopped sweeping. And I told my friend that he should have his son evaluated to know why he is doing this and why at his age he doesn't talk.
Autistic disorder or classical autism is the most severe form of ASD. Other milder form is also known and it is called Asperger's syndrome and a rare condition called Rett syndrome.
According to an estimate, experts said that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have ASD and males are four times more likely to have this compared to their female counterparts.
Hallmark feature of ASD is impaired social interaction. In early infancy a baby with ASD usually is unresponsive to people and focus intently on one item excluding other for long periods of time. A child who have ASD may seem to develop normally but then withdraw and become indifferent to his/her surroundings.
Children with this condition also do repetitive movements like rocking, twirling, or abusive behavior like biting or banging her head. Their speech usually develop late and may refer to themselves by name instead of "I" and "me". They cannot interact with other children and some speak in a sing-song voice and with narrow range of topics disregarding the interest of the person they are speaking to.
Autism spectrum disorder or ASD covers a range of complex neurodevelopmental disorders which are characterized by social impairments, difficulty in communicating, and restricted and repetitive as well as stereotype patterns of behavior. We went outing together with our friends and and their family and we notice the son of my friend who has sweeping the grounds repeatedly. He does not speak and he was 6 at that time. It took him 3 hours before he stopped sweeping. And I told my friend that he should have his son evaluated to know why he is doing this and why at his age he doesn't talk.
Autistic disorder or classical autism is the most severe form of ASD. Other milder form is also known and it is called Asperger's syndrome and a rare condition called Rett syndrome.
According to an estimate, experts said that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have ASD and males are four times more likely to have this compared to their female counterparts.
Hallmark feature of ASD is impaired social interaction. In early infancy a baby with ASD usually is unresponsive to people and focus intently on one item excluding other for long periods of time. A child who have ASD may seem to develop normally but then withdraw and become indifferent to his/her surroundings.
Children with this condition also do repetitive movements like rocking, twirling, or abusive behavior like biting or banging her head. Their speech usually develop late and may refer to themselves by name instead of "I" and "me". They cannot interact with other children and some speak in a sing-song voice and with narrow range of topics disregarding the interest of the person they are speaking to.
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Autism is hard to describe, and yet you intuitively know when you meet one something is "different." One of my friends has a 30 year old autistic son. The son has trouble making eye contact, and learning social cues. For example when he feels like it, he'll pull off all his clothes without shame. Another friend of mine has 20 year old autistic son, he was recently arrested on a sex offense. He didn't mean to upset the girl, he saw people on TV doing stuff and figured it was ok.
Both of these young men are high functioning in that they can speak and interact with people. Some autistic people are so sensitive to noise and light and sound that they have trouble doing mainstream school
Both of these young men are high functioning in that they can speak and interact with people. Some autistic people are so sensitive to noise and light and sound that they have trouble doing mainstream school
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It’s hard to narrow it down to one description because autism is a wide spectrum disorder. This basically means that no two people with autism will have the same the same exact symptoms. As well as having varying combinations of symptoms, some people will have mild symptoms while others will have severe ones. Some of the most commonly found characteristics identified among people with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) are lacking in social skills.
Also a person with autism will find it much harder to understand the feelings of other people. Their ability to instinctively empathize with others is much weaker than other people's. Some children with ASD do not like physical contact such as cuddling. Any change in their environment such as loud noises, different smells or bright lights can cause an adverse reaction. Their speech might be different or some with ASD do not speak at all. A person with autism likes predictability and may have repetitive behaviors which might seem like bizarre rites. They develop differently such as their cognitive skills may develop fast, while their social and language skills trail behind. On the other hand, their language skills may develop rapidly while their motor skills don't. It is also not uncommon for people with autism to have physical tics.
The myth that people with autism do not feel love, happiness, sadness and pain just like everyone else is not true. Some of them just do not express their feelings in the same way others do.
Also a person with autism will find it much harder to understand the feelings of other people. Their ability to instinctively empathize with others is much weaker than other people's. Some children with ASD do not like physical contact such as cuddling. Any change in their environment such as loud noises, different smells or bright lights can cause an adverse reaction. Their speech might be different or some with ASD do not speak at all. A person with autism likes predictability and may have repetitive behaviors which might seem like bizarre rites. They develop differently such as their cognitive skills may develop fast, while their social and language skills trail behind. On the other hand, their language skills may develop rapidly while their motor skills don't. It is also not uncommon for people with autism to have physical tics.
The myth that people with autism do not feel love, happiness, sadness and pain just like everyone else is not true. Some of them just do not express their feelings in the same way others do.
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Rather than copy and paste info from medical pages- -- let me give you first hand experiences.....
As stated before Autism is a broad spectrum disorder. There is a wide range of symptoms, and the person affected can have some, or all, or have some from one side, and some from the other side. You cannot really sum it up and call it even for everyone...
The severe side of Autism, the person may not be socially capable, they may be unable to communicate like we can. May be more than socially awkward - to the point where when they are in a social situation they cannot function, freak out, and probably go wild (not in a good way). On the flip side, the Autistic person can have a great social life - be the social butterfly. But has a hard time sharing with others. The autistic child may be very good with puzzles, and with things where they can use their hands- they often excel in this, but book smarts can be lacking... For example, gave my son at the age of 4 my Nintendo DS to play, and I did not have to show him nothing "No mommy, i do it. I good. I do it by self " And so I watched him, and sure enough, he was AH-MAZE-ING!!!! He unlocked a level in Mario Cart for my DS where he could ride on rainbows in the stars! I still to this day cannot get that level without asking him for help! I know, I hang my head in shame. LOL.
My son builds rockets with legos - while others just stack them. My son is very smart with hands on. Books tho -thats a bit harder for him. He will eventually catch up, and when he does he will be ahead - just as soon as he can put 1 and 1 together to make 2. (figuratively, not literally).
People with Aspergers also have a hard time socially. They are very non social, and prefer to stay home and read a book before they do anything social. And in social activities, often make sure they are not grabbing attention, and prefer it that way... again, freaking out if too much attention or too much social interaction...
I would offer you to ask your online friends what their symptoms are and how they deal. What meds they may be taking, how they are managing. Explain to them that you are curious, as you hear about it, but do not understand much about it....
Good props to the guy who posted about how its usually diagnosed in young children, and 1 in 100 are diagnosed... Good stats !
~My son is 6 and had PDD - Pervasive Development Disorder. Its an umbrella term that covers such diagnosis' like Autism and Aspergers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervasive_developmental_disorder
http://www.childbrain.com/pdd.shtml
As stated before Autism is a broad spectrum disorder. There is a wide range of symptoms, and the person affected can have some, or all, or have some from one side, and some from the other side. You cannot really sum it up and call it even for everyone...
The severe side of Autism, the person may not be socially capable, they may be unable to communicate like we can. May be more than socially awkward - to the point where when they are in a social situation they cannot function, freak out, and probably go wild (not in a good way). On the flip side, the Autistic person can have a great social life - be the social butterfly. But has a hard time sharing with others. The autistic child may be very good with puzzles, and with things where they can use their hands- they often excel in this, but book smarts can be lacking... For example, gave my son at the age of 4 my Nintendo DS to play, and I did not have to show him nothing "No mommy, i do it. I good. I do it by self " And so I watched him, and sure enough, he was AH-MAZE-ING!!!! He unlocked a level in Mario Cart for my DS where he could ride on rainbows in the stars! I still to this day cannot get that level without asking him for help! I know, I hang my head in shame. LOL.
My son builds rockets with legos - while others just stack them. My son is very smart with hands on. Books tho -thats a bit harder for him. He will eventually catch up, and when he does he will be ahead - just as soon as he can put 1 and 1 together to make 2. (figuratively, not literally).
People with Aspergers also have a hard time socially. They are very non social, and prefer to stay home and read a book before they do anything social. And in social activities, often make sure they are not grabbing attention, and prefer it that way... again, freaking out if too much attention or too much social interaction...
I would offer you to ask your online friends what their symptoms are and how they deal. What meds they may be taking, how they are managing. Explain to them that you are curious, as you hear about it, but do not understand much about it....
Good props to the guy who posted about how its usually diagnosed in young children, and 1 in 100 are diagnosed... Good stats !
~My son is 6 and had PDD - Pervasive Development Disorder. Its an umbrella term that covers such diagnosis' like Autism and Aspergers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pervasive_developmental_disorder
http://www.childbrain.com/pdd.shtml
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