Saturday, July 23, 2011

What is Autism

Autism is a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life and affects normal brain development of social skills and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior.These characters all begin to run until the child reaches three years.Autism affects information processing in the brain, by changing how nerve cells and their synapses to connect and organize, how this occurs is not well understood. This is one of the three recognized disorders autism spectrum disorder (broad), the other two had Asperger syndrome, which lacks the delay in cognitive development and language, and broad-based developmental disorder not otherwise specified disorders (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.

Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism is complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or rare combinations of common genetic variants. In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects Controversies around other proposed environmental causes, such as heavy metals, pesticides and childhood vaccines; .. The vaccine hypotheses are biologically plausible and the lack of convincing scientific evidence The incidence of autism is about 1 to 2 per thousand people worldwide, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports about 9 per thousand children in the United States are diagnosed with ASDThe number of people with autism has risen dramatically since. 1980, partly because of changes in diagnostic practice, the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved .

Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of life of their child.The signs develop gradually, but some autistic children first develop more normally, then relate.Early intervention can help cognitive behavioral or autistic children to develop skills of self-care, social and communicative. Although there is no known cure, There have been case reports of children who have recovered.Not many children with autism live independently after reaching adulthood, although some success. An autistic culture has developed, with some people seeking a cure and others believing autism must be accepted as a difference and not treated as a disorder .

types of autism

There are many different types of autism known, and many more unknown types. Although there are many types, the top three are:

Autistic-This is a disease that weakens the social interaction. It 'the most serious of all types. Also known as true autism, this disorder causes stereotyped behaviors, interests and activities.

Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) - commonly known as atypical autism is less severe than autism truth. People with this type of autism tend to persevere, that literally and do not understand humor.

Asperger's Disorder-Characterized by impairments in social interaction, this is the least serious of all types. Children with this disorder show little, if at all, a general delay in language.

Early Signs of Autism

According to the CDC, perhaps as many as 1 in 100 children are autistic, so if you are a parent of a toddler and worried early signs of autism, you are entitled to be affected. It's a good idea to keep a watchful eye on your toddler, because children, even very small can be diagnosed. And research shows that over the diagnosis and treatment, the better the prognosis for success.

So what you looking for? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, here are some red flags at the beginning of autism:

Possible Indicators of Autism Spectrum Disorders

•Not babble, point or make meaningful gestures by age 1

•I did not speak a word of 16 months

•Do not combine two words by 2 years

•No response to name

•Mr. and social language skills

•Eye Contact

•Not seem to know how to play with toys or lines over toys or other objects

•Is connected to a particular toy or object

•Do not smile or interact pleasantly

•At times seems to be hearing impaired

It 'important to remember that there are many possible explanations for most of the symptoms listed above. Child's toy or fixing difficult language is not in itself a sign of autism.

It is also important to remember that a child who does not have good language skills can still be diagnosed with autism spectrum. In fact, some children who are diagnosed with Asperger's extraordinary language and reading skills.

Other possible early signs of autism

Today, autism is usually diagnosed through a process of interviews with parents and children watching. Some researchers have found correlations between some physical problems and autism.

Characteristics Of Autism

Autism is a neurological disorder is highly variable, which first appears in childhood and generally follows a steady, without remission. Public symptoms gradually begins after the age of six months, to stabilize at the age of two or three years, , and usually continues into adulthood, although often milder form.It is distinguished, not by a single symptom, but have a trio of symptoms: impaired social interaction, impaired communication and restricted interests and repetitive behaviors. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common, but are not essential for diagnosis. Individual symptoms of autism in the general population and does not seem to connect well, without a clear line that divides the common characteristics of disease severity

Other Symptoms

Autistic people can have symptoms that are independent of the diagnosis, but that may affect the individual or family. [21] It is estimated that 0.5% to 10% of people with ASD have unusual abilities, ranging from Splinter skills such as memorization of trivia to the extraordinarily rare talents immensely autistic savants. [38] Many people with ASD show superior skills in perception and attention, compared to the general population. , sensory abnormalities are present in more than 90% of people with autism, and are considered basic features of some, [40] Although there is no good evidence that sensory symptoms apart autism from other developmental disorders. The differences are larger for sub-responsiveness (for example, walking into things) than most of responsiveness (eg, fear of loud noises) or sensation seeking (eg, rhythmic movements) .

Approximately 60% -80% of people with autism have motor signs that the poor muscle tone, poor motor planning, and toe walking, , deficits in motor skills and cover the entire ASD are autism, higher than the right.

Unusual eating behavior occurs in about three-quarters of children with ASD, in that it used a diagnostic indicator. Selectivity is the most common problem, although eating rituals and food refusal also occur This does not seem to lead to malnutrition. Although some children with autism also have gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, there is a lack of rigorous published data to support the theory that autistic children have more or different GI symptoms than usual Studies show conflicting results, and the relationship between GI problems and ASD is unclear.

Parents of children with ASD have higher levels of stress The siblings of children with ASD report greater admiration and less conflicts with siblings affected than siblings of affected children or those with Down syndrome;. Siblings of people with ASD have a higher risk of negative sibling relationships welfare and poorer than adults

Causes Of Autism

It has long been assumed that there is a common cause of genetic levels, cognitive and neural autism are characteristic triad of symptoms. But there is a growing suspicion that autism is a complex place, including the key elements have different causes, which are often co-occur.

Three diagrams of pairs of chromosomes A and B, which are almost identical. 1: B lacks a segment of A. 2: B has two copies of an adjacent segment of A. 3: B copy of a segment in reverse order.

Exhaust (1), duplication (2) and reverse (3) are all chromosome abnormalities that are implicated in autism.

Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex, and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more rare mutations in a significant impact on multigene interactions are rare or common tradition.The complexity arises because of interactions between different genes, epigenetic and environmental factors, which do not alter DNA, but are inherited and affect gene expression. [20] Studies of twins, the heritability is 0.7 and even 0.9 Autism: ASD, autism and the brothers who are about 25 times more likely to be autistic than the general population. However, most mutations that increase the risk of autism have not been identified. Typically, autism can not be traced back to Mendelian (single gene), a single mutation or chromosome abnormality, such as fragile X syndrome, and none of the genetic syndromes associated with the development of large-scale disturbances have been found to cause selectively ASD.

Many candidate genes have been located, with only small effects attributable to a particular gene. The large number of people with autism affected family members may arise from spontaneous variations in copy number, deletions or duplications in genetic material during meiosis. Therefore, a significant fraction of cases of autism may be attributable to genetic causes that are highly heritable but not inherited:. is the mutation that causes autism is present in the genome of the parents

Several lines of evidence point to synaptic dysfunction as a cause of autism. Some rare mutations may lead to autism by disrupting certain synaptic pathways, such as those involved in cell adhesion. [66] Studies of a gene replacement in mice suggest that autistic symptoms are closely related to the later stages of development, which depend on the activity of synapses and changes in activity-dependent. All known teratogens (agents that cause birth defects) related to the risk of autism appear to act in the first eight weeks of conception, and although this does not exclude the possibility that autism can be initiated affected or later, there is strong evidence that autism arises very early in development.

Although evidence of other environmental causes is anecdotal and has not been confirmed by reliable studies, , extensive research is ongoing. [68] Environmental factors that have been claimed to contribute to or aggravate autism, and may be important in future research, including certain foods, infectious diseases, heavy metals, solvents, diesel exhaust, PCBs, phthalates and phenols used in plastic products, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, vaccines and prenatal stress , even if no link is found, and some were completely DIS-proven.

Getting parents to be aware of the symptoms of autism in their children at the time of vaccination. This has led to unsupported theories blaming the vaccine "overload" the preservation of vaccines and autism, the MMR vaccine causes. The latter theory was supported by a study funded by the dispute has since been shown to have been "an elaborate fraud." Although these theories have no convincing scientific evidence and are biologically plausible , the concern of the parents of a candidate vaccine link to autism has led to reduced rates of childhood vaccination, epidemics of childhood diseases and controlled in some countries, preventable deaths of children from several.

How to treat children with autism

The main objective in the treatment of autistic children is to reduce deficits and associated family distress, and increasing quality of life and functional independence. No single treatment is best and treatment is usually tailored to the needs of the child. Family and education are the primary means of treatment. intervention studies have methodological problems that prevent definitive conclusions on efficacy. Although many psychosocial interventions have some positive signs, suggesting that some forms of treatment is better than no treatment, the methodological quality of systematic reviews of these studies was generally low, their clinical results are to most tentative, and there is little evidence of the relative effectiveness of treatment options.

intensive, sustained special education programs and behavior therapy early in life can help children develop independence, social skills and academic , and often function better and reduce severity of symptoms and maladaptive behaviors says that the intervention of approximately three years are critical years, are not documented. available approaches include applied behavior analysis (ABA), development models, structured teaching, speech therapy, social skills therapy and occupational therapy.

Education interventions can be effective to varying degrees in most children: intensive ABA treatment was effective in improving the overall functioning in preschool children and is stabilized to improve mental performance in young children. Neuropsychological reports are often poorly designed for teachers, when the gap between what the report recommends, and what kind of training is provided. It is not known whether treatment programs for children will lead to significant improvements when the children grow up, and the limited research funding, the effectiveness of adult residential programs shows mixed results. Appropriate to include children with different severity of autistic spectrum disorders in the general education of the population is currently a debate among teachers and researchers.

Many of the medications used to treat ASD symptoms that interfere with the integration of the child comes home from school, or when behavioral treatment fails. More than half of American children diagnosed with ASD are prescribed psychoactive drugs or anticonvulsants, with the most common classes of drugs are depressants, stimulants, and antipsychotics. In addition to antipsychotics, is little reliable research about the efficacy or safety of drug treatment for youth and adults with ASD. person in the ASD may respond on an atypical drug, the drug may have adverse effects, , it is not known medication to relieve the core symptoms of autism, communication deficits and social skills. Studies in mice have slipped into, or reduce some symptoms of autism, replacing or modulating the function of the gene, suggesting the possibility of rare mutations point to specific treatments that are known to cause autism .

Although many alternative therapies and interventions are available, some supported by scientific studies. treatment has little empirical support in quality of life contexts, and many programs focus on success measures that lack predictive validity and relevance in the real world. Scientific evidence appears to be less important to service providers than program marketing, training availability and demands of parents. Some alternative treatments may place the child in danger. A 2008 study showed that compared to their peers, boys with autism have thinner bones, so significant in the casein-free diet [142] in 2005, botched chelation therapy killed a five year old child with autism .

The treatment is expensive, so are the indirect costs. If someone was born in 2000 in the U.S. study estimated the average cost of living of $ 3.77 million (present value in 2011 dollars, inflation-adjusted 2003 estimate), by about 10% of medical care, 30% of higher education and the care of others, and 60% loss of economic productivity. public support programs are often inadequate or inappropriate for a particular child, and not yet reimbursed out-of-pocket medical or therapy expenses are associated with the likelihood of family financial problems, A 2008 study of United States found 14% of the average loss of annual income for families with ASD children, and related research, it was found that the ASD with a greater likelihood that the problems of child care parents greatly affect employment '. U.S. states increasingly require services of private health insurance cover autism, shifting the cost of training programs financed by public funds privately funded health insurance. When the key management issues of children in institutional care, vocational training and placement, sexuality, social skills, and estate planning