In general, autism is the developmental disability that prevents individuals from properly understanding what they see, hear, or otherwise sense. Approximately 3 to 5 out of every 10,000 school aged children have some for of autism, and males with the disorder outnumber females with it by nearly 5 to 1. It is estimated that 1 in every 500 display some autistic characteristics (Williams, xiv). Autism is called a spectrum disorder because there is no one characteristic and it is different in every person. Parents may hear labels such as: autistic-like, earning disabled with autistic tendencies, high or low functioning autism.
These labels dont describe differences in the child as much as the differences in the professionals training, vocabulary, and exposure to autism (autism zone, review). Autism and related disorders are grouped under the broad heading of Pervasive Development Disorder or PDD. Autism, PDD-NOS (pervasive development disorder, not otherwise specified), Aspergers syndrome and Retts syndrome are the four diagnoses used to describe individuals who manifest some, but not all characteristics of autism (Dalldorf, 1).
There is no definite test for autism. Autism is usually first diagnosed in children when they are about 2 years old. A child may display normal or above normal development until this age and suddenly change. It is unknown exactly what causes autism, but it is a biological problem and a childs environment has nothing to do with the disorder (Martin, 2-4). Also there is no one treatment to help autistic people. There are dozens of ways that seem to help and for every person it is different.
First there are the characteristics that are most common in autistic people to varying degrees. Delays in the development of language or no development at all. If it does develop then there is often use of words without attachment of normal meaning, use of unusual metaphors or speak in the formal, and talk in a monotone voice (Martin). They usually avoid eye contact and appear to tune out the world around them. They can appear to be deaf one minute and overly sensitive the next and similar reactions with all their senses.
Some autistic people may excel in one area or another such as music, math, drawing, or memorizing facts whether important or not. That was the characteristic displayed in the movie Rainman. However, only about 20% of autistic people have average or above average intelligence (autism zone, review). Autistic people tend to perform repetitive body movements such as rocking back and forth, hand flicking, or twisting. This is called stereotypic or self-stimulatory behavior. This behavior is often exhibited in mentally retarded patients, but it is even more common in autistic individuals.
Autistic individuals likes routines and finds comfort in repetition, and when change occurs in those routines the person becomes agitated and distressed (autism zone, review). They are usually not interested in socializing and like to be alone. Their behavior may be very passive or they may overreact. They may throw a tantrum for no reason at all, appear to have no common sense, and may not realize the potential danger of things like stoves and cars (Williams 68&69). These are only some of the characteristics of autism, and a person may exhibit some of these characteristics yet not be autistic.
Also the degree and if some are present at all The exact causes of autism are unknown, but there seems to be a link with heredity and genetics, though a particular gene that causes autism has not been dentified. An article in the American Journal of Psychology says that families with an autistic child have a higher rate of depression and anxiety that are unaccounted for raising an autistic child and it is also displayed in aunts and uncles. Also, non-autistic relatives may display some characteristics of autism in small quantities. This shows that there is a link between genes and autism (Piven 557).
There are biological reasons why autistic characteristics are displayed. The structure of the brain and the biochemical in the body of an autistic person are notably different from a normal human being. Autistic children have symptoms like abnormal electroencephalograms, MRI scans, PET test, seizures, abnormalities on neurological examinations show structural differences in the brain. These differences in the structure of the brain show the dysfunction of the neurotransmitters that relay messages to the brain. These defects are also similar to those in schizophrenia (Piven 558).
The hypocampus which is used for the normal functioning of memory, behavior, and emotion, the cerebellum which receives vestibular, propioceptic, and visual data, and the pons which affects the ability to eel pain and our fear responses are all affected by autism and explain the reasons for some of the characteristics of autism. The vestibular system is the primary means of balance and one of three systems that help people determine where they are in space. If this information is relayed incorrectly because of a problem with the cerebellum, the brain will feel off balance and want more information.
Rocking, twirling and moving are ways of stimulating the vestibular system and send more impulses to the cerebellum, but those impulses too are relayed poorly and the behavior is repeated over and over again. The cerebellum also receives information on the visual world. This too works improperly and distorts the world the person is seeing. The poor relaying of information explains the stereotypic behavior of autistic people (autism zone, treatment:nuerological reorganization). Another theory of stereotypic behavior is the bad transmitting of information could disturb the person and the behavior is done to calm the individual.
Another problem is the pons. If the pons are damaged, then it may always trigger a fear impulse. It is possible that an autistic person may be in a onstant state of fear (autism zone, treatment:nuerological reorganization). One of the main problems with diagnosing autism is that there are no real tests that positively show for certain that the person is autistic; all the tests are subjective. A doctor diagnoses a person as autistic when a number of characteristics are displayed in the patient (Daldorf 1). The number of characteristics displayed that are inappropriate for a child that age determines the diagnoses the child receives.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual is the tool that states the characteristics how to diagnose the patient. There are also numerous tests that rule out any other disorders to make sure that it is truly autism. An audiologic evaluation can be done to make sure there is no form of hearing loss, and the individual is having problems interpreting the noises as would an autistic person. If there is no way of observing if there is hearing loss, then an Auditory Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry (ABR, BER) can be performed.
This test does not require the cooperation of the patient, but they will need to be sedated. Doctors measure the activity along the auditory nerve to the brainstem to see how the person is hearing. Autistic people are known to have inconsistent responses and increased latency (Martin 189). A Computed Tomography of the Brain can be done which can detect many problems in the brain such as cysts, tumors, and many other abnormalities. Autistic children have a relatively low occurrence of abnormalities detected by the test.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can be performed which is similar to the CT but does not give off radiation. MRIs can detect abnormalities in the cerebellum and brainstem, and that is usually the case with autistic people. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) test can be performed n which radioactive glucose is injected intravenously. This test provides information on how the brain is actually functioning rather than the structure of the brain. Blood and urine analysis can be used to discover metabolic disorders and determine if there is any disease that is affecting the childs behavior.
Blood lead level is another test because lead poisoning can have the same effects as autism and theoretically lead to autism. Lead poisoning can be treated, but the effects are not always reversible. Lastly, chromosome analysis can be done to rule out genetic disorders. These tests will not give proof that the child is autistic, but will rule out any other diseases or disorders that could possibly be causing the symptoms Autistic people can be helped and some people have fought through it, breaking free of the disorder (Williams).
There are numerous treatments available to relieve the symptoms and some that try to help the individual work normally despite their disability. Sensory integration, music therapy, auditory integration, neurological reorganization, physical exercise, nutritional intervention, and drugs can be used to treat autistic people. These are not the only treatments but only a ew. Like the disorder itself, there are many treatments and all have to be tailored to each individual that is treated. The first technique is sensory integration which helps the individual properly understand the information they are receiving from their senses.
To do this, a therapist guides the patient through activities and challenges the patient to use their mind and think and properly use their senses to understand what is happening to make a successful, organized response (autism zone, treatment:sensory integration). Then there is music therapy which uses music to get the child interested and learn language. Some autistic children have tremendous musical potential and most are sensitive to music due to its non-threatening nature and non-verbal aspects of it. The therapist can play notes and the child will sing along.
Eventually different sounds can be introduced and then words. Using repetitive simple songs and showing the object or actions, the child can learn speech and the meaning of the words they are saying (Autism zone, treatment:Music therapy). The next treatment is auditory integration. What this does is plays music at random modulations to help the patient less sensitive to particular sound frequencies. Basically the pitch of the tone is randomly changed to create music. The music is played at a moderately high volume at 85 dBA which is equivalent to as loud as standing 5 feet from a vacuum cleaner.
An audiogram is taken before each session to determine the frequencies that the patient is sensitive to so those can be dampened when played. This treatment helps the autistic child coupe with loud and unusual noises. Some people argue that the treatment is only causing the patient to have hearing damage, but the hearing has actually been found to improve in tests done by clinics who perform this treatment. This improvement may only be caused by the familiarity with the test and the doctor (Autism zone, treatment:Auditory intergration).
The next treatment is neurological reorganization which actually makes the brain change and reorder itself and establish correct associations. They use the reflex patterns encoded in the central nervous system to make the brain make the proper connections. This process establishes the appropriate neurological function and frees the individual to become incorporated into the world and society as a normal human being (Autism zone, treatment:neurological reorganization). Believe it or not, physical exercise does play a part in helping to reduce stereotypic behavior, hyperactivity, aggression, self-injury, and destructiveness.
Mild exercise usually has little effect, but a vigorous workout (20 minute or longer aerobic workout, 3 or 4 days a week) does a lot. Exercise not only helps autistic people physically but also mentally. It helps the child learn better by reducing stereotypic behavior and increasing attention span (Autism zone, treatment:Physical exercise). There is also nutritional intervention which is also under estimated in effectiveness. Antioxidants, such as itamin E, coenzyme Q10, and vitamin C help increase oxygen utilization in the brain and may be beneficial in autistic children.
There also seems to be a malabsorption problem that involves an increased permeability of the intestines. Therefore, proteins that typically pass through the intestines without being absorbed tend to get absorbed in the intestines of autistic children. This can cause problems when the proteins break down to metabolites in the blood as well as increasing the incidence of food reactions (food sensitivity and food allergy). For example, casein in milk can break down to casomorphine in the blood, which can ct like a narcotic.
It is thought that some of the behavioral abnormalities in autistic children result from the effects of the casein metabolites. Gluten is another potential culprit and thus many autistic children are placed on casein-free and gluten-free diets, and many improve. Urinary peptide tests now can be used to detect these metabolites and determine which children should most appropriately be placed on restrictive diets. On those diets, the children often improve and become more coherent and in tune with the world around them (Autism zone, treatment:Nutritional Intervention). The last treatment is the use of drugs.
Drugs can be used to alter the behavior of anyone and that includes the autistic. The only problem is that with an autistic person, sometimes the drug can have adverse affects that were unknown prior to the administering of it. Severe, irreversible damage may be the result, or the drug may do exactly what it was supposed to or nothing at all. Most of the time drugs can be effective, but they will not cure autism. They are only a temporary fix for the problem. Autistic people can become productive members of society, but they will lways need a form of supervision all their lives.
With help, autistic adults can successfully work in the competitive job market or in work groups. They can live semi-independently in a group home or supervised apartments. It is possible to work through autism and become semi-normal again. Nobody Nowhere and Somebody Somewhere are the autobiographies of Donna Williams. She was born autistic and now she is a college graduate and a writer (Williams ix). Another story of an autistic person beating the odds is that of Ian Drummond. He was unable to speak, but with the proper help he eventually learned (Martin).
Autism is a complex and still relatively unknown disorder. There is still much to be learned and much research is going on now. Autism is like no other disorder or disease because of the wide range of symptoms and the unknown cause. Autism is similar to other diseases like schizophrenia , but still remains distinctly different. Autistic people are not idiots or hermits, they have a problem that is beyond their control. They do not choose to be that way, that is just how they are. Everyone has their own ideas of how to treat it and what causes it, but at this point only God knows what really happens and why.
