Autism

Autism

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Autism

Every twenty minutes, a new case of autism is diagnosed. Every year, in the United States, there are 24,000 new cases of autism. In the United States today, there are 1.77 million cases of autism. Autism is a physical disorder of the brain that causes a lifelong developmental disability. The more current term for autism today is Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There is a broad range of severity for Autism Spectrum Disorder. ASD ranges from mild to severe; mild ASD patients are more than likely able to participate in a regular classroom setting and may even grow out of the classification of autism. Patients on the more severe end of the spectrum may have retardation and the inability to speak. There is no specific test for ASD but it is diagnosed on whether certain behavioral actions have or have not been developed at the typical age (Exkorn, 2005, p. 7).

Although researchers are aware of some factors that may be the cause of autism, the exact cause of autism is unknown to this date. Some of these factors are the disruption of circuitry in the brain, genetic factors, environmental factors, immune system response, and hormones in mother's stress. The brain circuitry factor is associated with ASD patients processing information in different sections of the brain than typical people. This may explain why ASD patients excel in some skill areas and lack in other areas. The genetic factor is associated with fragile X syndrome. This is the only gene that is directly connected with ASD. Between two and six percent of all patients diagnosed with ASD have a mutated fragile X gene. Environmental factors are thought of as viral infections, childhood immunizations, exposure to lead and mercury, and imbalance in metabolism. Chief science officer of the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) states, "There certainly isn't a shortage of environmental suspects that may play a role in autism". Patients with ASD's immune systems reacted differently to certain bacteria than typical people. Patients with ASD have less cytokines that mediate behavior and mood (Exkorn, 2005, pp. 72-75).

There are many symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Social interaction problems is one. Problems in this area are eye contact, body language, and expressions. Communication problems include not being able to speak adequately by the age of three, which is when typical children are mildly fluent in speech. Most ASD patients are very repetitive with their speech (Kutscher, 2005, p. 94). A research study has concluded that forty percent of autistic children do not speak at all. Many ASD children also have echolalia, which is when they repeat what has just been said or asked (Powers, 1989, pp. 4-5). Narrow and/or repetitive range of interests or behaviors explains that children with ASD are very repetitive in their motions and daily routines. (Kutscher, 2005, p. 94).

Treatment for children needs to begin as soon as possible, otherwise known as 'early intervention'. This is because children are able to learn and "be shaped" at a maximum when they are young. One type of treatment is Applied Behavioral Analysis, or ABA. This is done by having forty hours of one-on-one therapy per week. During ABA, children are taught by trial training. There is a reward system involved in this that reinforces children to do the things they are supposed to do. Another form of treatment