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Causes and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder
Autism spectrum disorder research study
Autism diagnosis in children ESSAY
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AUTISM IN CHILDREN
Autism in Children Research and Analysis
Nava Weitzner
Understanding Diverse Learners
Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration
Yeshiva University
Introduction
One of the major public health goals of modern society is identification of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) at an early stage of a child’s development. Recent studies show on average 2-3 in a thousand children have autism and some 5-6 in a thousand suffer from some variation of ASD. Compared to ten years ago, clinical services are required for 5-7 times more children with ASD disorders in certain regions (Dawson 2013). The increased demand could be attributed to heightened attention to the disorder among doctors,
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People with ASD tend to have communication deficits. Its symptoms are evident before a child turns three years old. Among the first symptoms that can alert doctors and parents to a potential ASD is a delay in speech development or disappearance of speech acquired earlier. Even though changes in development can sometimes be seen as early as in 8-12 months, ASD cannot be properly diagnosed before the child reaches 2 years of age. Revealed behavior deviation and developmental history are the only tools at a doctor’s disposal since ASD cannot be revealed using a blood test or a different biological procedure. The most accepted procedures for the diagnosis include the Autism Diagnostic Observation Period and the Autism Diagnostic Interview, which are carried out by specially-trained health professionals (Saulnier and Ventola 2014). In addition to observations from these tests, clinicians can use other information gathered elsewhere in order to identify ASD in a child based on the criteria set out in the DSM-IV. Many children suffering from ASD often have another genetic disorder that can be identified using a biomedical test, so these tests can be used alongside in the diagnostic procedure to better understand the symptoms (Westby …show more content…
According to Granpeesheh and colleagues (2014), fraternal twins have the same ASD concordance rates as siblings. The risk of one sibling to have ASD if another has been diagnosed averages between 2.8% and 7%, considerably higher than in the general population, yet 10 times lower than among identical twins (Granpeesheh et al. 2014). This evidence strongly supports the genetic nature of the ASD even if the genes cannot fully explain the etiology of the
Van Den Berg, S. M. and Others. 2012. Genetic analysis of rare disorders: bayesian estimation of twin concordance rates. Behavior genetics, 42 (5), pp. 857-865.
(“Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”, 2012). The primary factor in developing SLE is a genetic component although it is not fully understood (Robinson, Sheets Cook, & Currie, 2011). It has been shown that identical twins have a concordance rate of 24% whereas fraternal twins have a rate of 2% (“Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”, 2012). In addition, individuals have an 8-fold increased risk of developing SLE if they have a first-degree relative with the disease (Richman & Schub,
Stephanie Lindsey the author of the article Autism and Education addresses some serious issues in the education system between the special needs students and the highly gifted students. Stephanie writes the article based off her children and how they are treated in school. Her son has autism, which affects his capability to learn, speak, and to train himself when it comes to bathroom use. Also never being alone in school due to him having a personal aid alongside him with special classes he is treaded with a different type of education. Her daughter on the other hand tests in the 95th percentile nationwide on standardized testing. She’s twelve and her capability of progressing information and taking complex ideas apart and putting them back together to form new thoughts is like no normal twelve year old. She reads entire novels, solves Sudoku puzzles, and also participates in her school
The cause of AS is still very much unknown.Children with Asperger syndrome start to show signs as early as one to two years old; however a diagnosis is rarely given until later, usually around the ages of th...
It can be noticed by the parents at early age (congenital) or during childhood (from 3 to 6 years). Recognizing ASD is by observing the patients' communication skills, interaction with people and things around him\her and sometimes by some health problems like sleeping problems and gastrointestinal distress. This changes are usually noticeable in the first two years in children because these are the most interactive and transitional years of the children's lives. (2,5) These symptoms are reduced down to three main symptoms which are social interaction, communication, and repetitive behavioral issues. Social impairment is what distinguish ASD from other developmental disorders. Most patient with ASD finds interaction with others difficult and challenging or lack the intuition about people. They also tend to avoid eye contact, fail to respond to their own names, and prefer to be alone. However they form attachments to their primary caregivers. (2,4,5)Second, communication problems which can occur in different verbal abilities from no speech to fluent, but impropriate and awkward. They are noticed when trying to ask for something or tell something, and it can appear as delay in talking or difficulty in following or starting a conversation. (5,6)Finally, is the behavioral issues which mainly are focusing on unnecessary things like the far train's voice, inability to live without daily routine, and stereotyped behavior like hand
Autism’s most obvious signs tend to appear between ages 2-3 years old. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is at neurological and developmental disorder that begins early in childhood and lasts throughout your life. The centers for disease and prevention (CDC) estimates autism's prevalence as 1 in 68 children in the United States. This includes 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls. An estimated 50,000 teens with autism become adults. Around one third of people with autism are nonverbal. Around one third of people with autism have an intellectual disability. Certain medical and mental health issues frequently accompany the autism. They include seizures,
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be detected early in a child’s life. ASD is a developmental disorder classified by problems with social interaction,
One of the most characteristic features of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is its prominent higher prevalence among the male gender in comparison with the female gender. Although rates of ASD are consistent across cultures, these rates vary significantly by gender. It is the male gender that seems to be more affected by ASD with an average male-to-female ratio of 4.2:1, affecting 1 in 70 males and only 1 in 315 females (Fombonne, 2009). Although a well-known fact, the causes for such a great difference among sex ratios still remains unexplained, there are several hypotheses and studies trying to explain the reason for this inequality. In this paper I will outline some of the different attempts to explain the differences between the sex ratios. Among these attempts we can find diverse hypotheses that vary from the role of the sex hormones and genetic vulnerability to the biases of medical professionals during the diagnostic process (Goldman, 2013).
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that effects the brains development. It is characterized by affecting communication, cognition and social interaction. The spectrum of the disorders ranges from a mild condition called Asperger’s syndrome to a more severe form, which severely impairer’s development. The Office of Communications and Public Liaison states that the disorder affects one and eighty-eight children, however ASD effects boys more frequently than girls (Office of Communications and Public Liaison, 2013). ASD emerges in all age, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. The significant varied character and severity of the disorder is why ASD is considered a spectrum that poses a broad range of symptoms.
Every year doctors diagnose thousands of adults and children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Due to the growing awareness of autism and recent developments in technology, scientists and doctors can now discover and observe the effects of autism on society, and people. Starting with its discovery, researchers have been able to diagnose people more effectively. Doctors are beginning to discover what causes this disorder, and are currently trying to find ways to prevent and treat it. Many places have opened their doors to people with this disorder, creating autistic friendly environments where people are patient and understanding. Schools have also become accommodating to autistic children and adults. Autism also puts great strain on family and home lives.
65 children, 52 boys and 13 girls who were not diagnosed with autism, from 3 different clinics, were used for this study. They were under 3 years of age, they were referred to the clinics due to social and/or language issues, and their parents provided informed consent. The children had also previously had 2 independent diagnostic evaluations. A second group of 37 children were used from this sample, th...
These five developmental disorders are commonly known as Autism Spectrum Disorders. “The most common are Autism, Asperger's syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) (www.learningdisabilitiesinfo.com).” Severe Autism, Rett Syndrome, and CDD are usually recognized before a child reaches the age of three. However, high-functioning Autism and Asperger’s are often times not discovered until a child enters school. High-functioning Autism and Asperger’s are frequently compared, considering children with these disorders express the same traits and characteristics. Conversely, the main difference between the two disorders is pragmatics, or language skills. A child with Asperger’s Syndrome is capable of communicating, but due to their social and developmental impairments, they cannot appropriately communicate with their peers. On the other hand, a child with Autism lacks language skills and requires spec...
Early studies conducted utilizing twins showed the disorders ability to pass along as an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. This means it only needed one copy of the gene to be passed in order to be expressed. More recent research suggests there may be a combination of defective genes, and when combined with certain environmental factors can lead to the expression of the disorder. The heritability of TS is estimated between 50 and 80%, which equates to about as much as other psychiatric disorders. Further genetic studies also suggest some forms of attention deficit disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) may be lighter forms of Tourette’s syndrome.
The issue of obtaining early screening and/or diagnosis looks more promising after reading the article New Autism Screening Tool More Reliable, Study Finds. According the article, the new up-dated screening tool, The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F), spots children having the disability with more reliability. The tool flags fewer children suspected of having ASD than all previous screening tools, but eventually more of these children who are spotted by the new tool confirm their diagnoses. The tool is based on parents’ responses that pediatricians obtain during regular well-child visits at ages 16 to 30 months and identifies a child as having a low, medium, or high risk for autism. A child that is spotted as having a medium or high risk, is referred for further evaluation (Heasley, 2014).
The diagnosis of ASD was made simpler by moving towards a dyad model requiring both social communication deficits and repetitive and restrictive behaviors, and Aspberger’s Disorder and pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) were eliminated (Swineford, et al, 2014). This aligns with goal of making the DSM an evidenced based document, as there was little consensus regarding the distinction between autism disorder, Aspberger’s disorder and PDD-NOS. This change and the addition of SCD as a diagnosis distinct from ASD emphasizes that these children have a pathology that is fundamentally different from, rather than a mild form of,