Diseases And Conditions

Reg Ofori asked:


If you are worried that someone you love with autism will not enjoy life to the full then read on. Autism is an arrested development. It hampers development in a human being and occurs normally in children

Study show that it is the fastest growing development disability and there is a worldwide autism epidemic. This article will try to identify causes, diagnosis methods and steps to deal with autism.

Did You Know That…

• 1 in every 150 babies born has Autism ( and in some reports it is even greater then that)

• Families with one autistic child have a 2 to 8 percent chance of having another autistic child.

• Boys are three to four times more likely to be diagnosed with Autism.

• Mental retardation is present in 75-80% of individuals with autism.

• Autism occurs more often than childhood cancer or cystic fibrosis.

• Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability. In the U.S. alone, autism increased by 172% during the 1990s.

• When autism is detected and treated early, costs associated with the disorder can be reduced by 66%.

It is believed that one in every 150 children diagnosed is affected by autism. Parents love their children and it is a joy to bring another human being into the world. The Bible says that children are a gift from God.

It is so painful and heartbreaking to discover that your child is affected by autism. Many parents blame themselves for their child’s autism. Some believe it is their genes.

According to National Autism Association autism is no longer considered heritable and a genetic disorder. Environmental conditions are contributory factors to autism. It is believed that it is environmentally triggered and is a preventable and treatable disease. Research in the environment has brought hope to those affected by autism and therefore environmental analysis to causes of autism holds the key to finding the cause and developing effective treatment for autism.

Yet you will hear theories of many causes of autism, but no one has found the exact cause of autism

Psychologists, Psychiatrists, School psychiatrists and Developmental Paediatricians use methods such as, M-CHAT (Modified checklist for Autism in Toddlers), CARS (Child Autism Rating Scale), Autism Diagnostic Checklist Form E-2 and ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale) to diagnose autism.

In the 1950’s-1970’s mothers whose children were affected with autism were labelled ‘’Refrigerated Mothers’’. It was believed that mothers were not loving and neglecting their children which cause them to regress into their own world. But environmental analysis has changed this notion and believed that autism has a direct link to the environment.

Diagnostic methods are available to help cure autism and is been used by professionals. Early detection of autism will decrease cost of autism. Parents should be assured that your efforts to cure autism will be rewarded.

jANINE asked:


High functioning autism is on the higher end of the autism spectrum disorder scale. The symptoms of autism are still present but to lesser degree.

 The characteristics of high functioning autism are often confused with asperger syndrome because of the close similarities.

 However there is one vital difference in the two diagnoses with asperger syndrome there is no delay in language development, where as in high functioning autism there is.

 There is however still no official diagnosis of high functioning autism and the condition is still being confused and often referred to as asperger syndrome.

 The high functioning autism individual will normally have an average or above average intelligence.

 The characteristics of high functioning autism include:

 Motor delays

Social deficits

Communication deficits

Obsessive interests

Sensory issues

They display a poor use of language.

 One of the main differences to autism spectrum disorder is that individuals with high functioning autism will normally want to be social and have friends; where as autistic individuals show no interest in socializing.

 Even though individuals with high functioning autism do desire social interaction they still have the same social deficits as those with autism spectrum disorder.

 They lack the ability to read facial expression or body language, lack the ability to understand humor and find reading other peoples feelings difficult. Which can make them socially isolated and often make them the subjects of bullying and taunts.

 This unwanted social isolation and sometimes bullying can lead to anxieties and depression.

 An individual with high functioning autism can become aggressive as a result of the social isolation not understanding why they are the butt of this social isolation, taunting and bullying.

 A good point to remember is a normally developing youngster will learn social skills through family, peers and their environment. An autistic individual will not, this is the same for the high functioning individual.

 Therefore social skills need to be taught and re-enforced. The best method for this is using something called social skills stories. These valuable autism resources can be like throwing an autistic individual a life line.

 The high functioning individual can use the autism social skills story to help them develop social skills making them socially accepted, therefore relieving the anxiety, stress and ultimately easing depression.

 Implementing autism social skills stories has never been easier with the internet. Autism social skills stories can be downloaded directly and used for all situations the high functioning autistic individual is struggling with.

 Immediate download of autism social skills stories specifically for high functioning autistic individuals can be found at:

 www.autismscoailstories.com/high_functioing_autistic_aggression

Jonathan Sullivan asked:


The Autism Society of America or ASA is an organization that encompasses an army of volunteers that staff a website that provides information on autism and collects donations for research and other positive autism outlets. The ASA has not only vowed to help in the education, advocacy, and treatment of autistic individuals, but they have also vowed to help the parents and the experts facilitate information of autistic issues and at the same time build a support group to help both autistic children and their families.

The ASA has continued this mission in their mission statement which declares that they will try to be the number one resource in the collection and distribution of autistic information that is presented. They intend to keep the integrity of the autistic individual intact as well as protecting the autistic community as a whole. They pledge to have a respectful communication of ideas that are positive in the needs of the autistic population and at the same time to disclaim any misinformation or myths that evolve around autism.

Stating in 1965 with a handful of parents, ASA has grown into the world’s leadinr in providing information, presenting research, and providing as much reference about autism then any other source. ASA has over 200,000 members and at least 200 articless in the United States and around the world. Not only does the ASA provide information for the teachers, parents, and individuals with autism, they also have created programs of public awareness. The more the public knows about autism, the less chance misinformation or defamatory actions will take place.

The ASA offers scholarships and rewards to students and individuals who are actively participating in the ongoing research and collection of information on autism. The scholarships may help the student or individuals pay for schooling or to continue research. There are other scholarships that deal with just funding for schooling of autistic students that need funds or who have excelled academically at a higher level of learning. Awards also go out to autism organizations of the year, parents of the year, an autistic student of the year, and the autism professional of the year. These efforts go to recognize these individuals and to encourage more participation in the autism effort.

The store at ASA doesn’t have many items, only four, but if you are sincere about autism they are of great worth. They offer a support autism research rubber wristband that will tell the public about your conviction to rid the world of autism. They offer an Autism for Dummies books which breaks down the mystery of autism in layman’s language. This resource can help both teachers and parents. They also offer a reference guide for autism in Spanish. Autism is not localized to any race, nationality, or religion. This guide provides information for the large Hispanic community that is present in the world. If you are really into the goings on of the ASA, the 2005 and 2006 autism conferences on audio so you can listen to the discussions live.

The site needs volunteers and supporters. Even if you are not an autistic parent, the ASA can offer you the opportunity to be apart of something greater than the individual. Sign up and participate today and maybe autism will be eradicated with your effort or donation.

jANINE asked:


m is a life long developmental condition affecting the brain of the individual. Autism spectrum disorder has various degrees: Low functioning autism, where the autistic individual may have other problems such as little or no speech, seizures and will normally have educational difficulties. To asperger syndrome where the individual will have average or above intelligence, speech may still be slow in progression. This set of individuals are often referred to as the little professor or geeks! All autistic individuals on the autism spectrum disorder scales from low functioning autism through to asperger syndrome will all have in various degrees the triad of autism symptoms: Social deficits Communication deficits Imagination and interaction deficits The triad of autism developmental deficits the autism symptoms will always be present; but can be helped using autism resources such as social skills stories, PECS, Flash cards etc… One of the major areas of difficulty in autism is social skills deficits. Most normally developing children will learn social skills through watching other people and their environment. This ability is missing in autistic children and social skills need to be taught directly. Generally normally developing children will want to please and will watch their parents, peers and other people in general to see what they do and will mimic these social skills. With autistic children this inquisitiveness and desire to watch others is missing, therefore making social skills harder to master. This is where you as a parent, caregiver, or autistic educators will need to help; autism social skills deficits can be helped effectively using autism social skills stories. What are autism social skills stories and how will they help? Simple they are used widely with tremendous results. Research suggests parents, caregivers and autistic educators have found great relief in teaching social skills to autistic children once autism social skills stories have been implemented. Short yet visually rich using appropriate language autism social skills stories are used affectively as a tool for teaching and re-enforcing important social skills and behaviors to autistic individuals. Giving key focus to the vital points they will assist the autistic individual to make sense and learn social skills and behaviors appropriately. For immediate download of these autism resources and FREE report on how to implement autism social skills stories visit: www.autismsocialstories.com OR www.autismsocialstories.org.uk

Andrew Brereton asked:


 

What do we mean when we say autism is a ’spectrum disorder?’

When the term, ’spectrum disorder’ is used it means that there are a range of symptoms, which can be attributed to autism. Any one individual may display any combination of these symptoms, in differing degrees of severity. Therefore an individual at one end of the autistic spectrum may seem very different to an individual at the other end of the spectrum.

Who first discovered autism?

Autism was first recognised in the mid 1940’s by a psychiatrist called Leo Kanner. He described a group of children, whom he was treating, who presented with some very unusual symptoms such as; – atypical social development, irregular development of communication and language, and recurring / repetitive and obsessional behaviour with aversion to novelty and refusal to accept change. His first thoughts were that they were suffering some sort of childhood psychiatric disorder.

At around the same time that Kanner was grappling with the problems of these children, a German scientist, Hans Asperger was caring for a group of children whose behaviour also seemed irregular. Asperger suggested that these children were suffering from what he termed ‘autistic psychopathy.’ These children experienced remarkably similar symptoms to the children described by Kanner, with a single exception. – Their language development was normal! There is still an ongoing debate as to whether autism and Asperger’s syndrome are separable conditions, or whether Asperger’s syndrome is merely a mild form of autism.

What is the cause of autism?

In the 1960s and 1970s there arose a theory that autism was caused by abnormal family relationships. This led on to the ‘refrigerator mother’ theory, which claimed that autism in the child was caused by cold, emotionless mothers! (Bettleheim, 1967). However the weight of evidence quickly put this theory to bed as evidence was found to support the idea that the real cause was to be found in abnormalities in the brain. This evidence was quickly followed by findings, which clearly demonstrated that the EEG’s of children with autism were, in many cases, atypical and the fact that a large proportion of children also suffered from epilepsy.

From this time, autism has been looked upon as a disorder, which develops as a consequence of abnormal brain development. Recently, evidence has shown that in some cases, the abnormal brain development may be caused by specific genes.

However, we should not forget that genes can only express themselves if the appropriate environmental conditions exist for them to do so and so, we should not rule out additional, environmental causes for autism. We should not forget that autism can also be caused by brain-injury, that an insult to the brain can produce the same effects as can abnormal development of the brain, which may have been caused by genetic and other environmental factors. I have seen too many children who have suffered oxygen starvation at birth, who have gone on to display symptoms of autism. So, it is my view that autism can also be caused by brain-injury.

There are also other possibilities, which can ultimately produce the type of brain dysfunction, which we recognise as autism. There is a great deal of research being carried out at the moment in the area of ‘oxidative stress’ and methylation and it’s effects upon the integrity of neural networks. There is also the debate surrounding mercury levels in vaccines, which is as of yet, unresolved.

The fact is that ‘many roads lead to Rome.’ – There are likely to be several factors both genetic and environmental, which can ultimately lead to the type of brain dysfunction, which we call autism.

 

So, how do we recognise autism?

On a descriptive level, autism involves a dysfunction of the brain’s systems, which control communication, socialisation, imagination and sensory perception. My theory is that it is the distortions of sensory perception, which are so characteristic of autism, which exacerbates many (but not all) of the other difficulties. Imagine a child suffering from autism who suffers distortions of sensory perception. For instance, the child who suffers distortions of visual perception, might find situations which require eye -contact to be exceptionally threatening, or on the other end of the scale might become obsessive about specific visual stimuli. The child who suffers distortions of tactile perception, might at one end of the spectrum find any situation which requires physical contact to be terrifying, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, they might be a ’sensation seeker’ to the point of becoming self -injurious. The child who suffers distortions of auditory perception might at one end of the spectrum, be terrified of sounds of a certain pitch or intensity, whereas at the other end of the spectrum, they might actively seek out, or become obsessive about certain sounds.

 

Treatment

The question is, what can we do to help redress these distortions of sensory perception. Well, we believe we can learn from the newborn baby. When baby is born, he sleeps for most of the time, only spending short periods of time interacting with this new environment in which he finds himself; – a new environment which bombards his senses with new sights, noises and smells. So he retreats into the safe, calm environment of sleep, which provides the sensory safe haven which up until recently was the sanctuary of the womb. Very gradually, as baby adjusts his sensory system to his new environment, he spends more and more time in the waking world, interacting and learning to communicate, – but he adjusts very gradually!

There is possibly a neurological explanation for this. There are structures within the brain, which act to ‘tune’ sensory attention. These three structures, which allow us to tune our attention are structures, which enables us to ‘tune out’ background interference when we wish to selectively attend to something in particular. They also enables us to ‘tune in’ to another stimulus when we are attending to something completely different. They are the same mechanisms of the brain, which allows us to listen to what our friend is saying to us, even when we are standing in the midst of heavy traffic on a busy road. It is these mechanisms that allow us, even though we are in conversation in a crowded room, to hear our name being spoken by someone else across that room. It is these mechanisms, which allow a mother to sleep though various loud, night-time noises such as her husband snoring, or an aeroplane passing overhead and yet the instant her new baby stirs, she is woken. It is a remarkable feature of the human brain and it is the responsibility of three structures operating cooperatively; – these are the ascending reticular activating formation, the thalamus and the limbic system.

Having made such a bold claim, allow me to furnish you with the evidence to support it. The three structures just mentioned receive sensory information from the sense organs and relay the information to specific areas of the cortex. The thalamus in particular is responsible for controlling the general excitability of the cortex (whether that excitability tunes the cortex up to be overexcited, tunes it down to be under excited, or tunes it inwardly to selectively attend to it’s own internal sensory world.) (Carlson, 2007). The performance of these neurological structures, or in the case of our children, their distorted performance seems to be at the root of the sensory problems faced not only by newborn babies, but the sensory difficulties our children face and yes, as the newborn shows, their performance CAN be influenced, – they can be re-tuned.

I believe the sensory system of some children with autism is experiencing similar difficulties to that of a newborn, – at one end of the autistic spectrum, the cortex is being over-excited by these structures and the person is overwhelmed and has difficulty accommodating the mass of sensory stimulation within the environment. At the other end of the autistic spectrum, the cortex is being under-excited and the person has trouble in perceiving sensory stimulation from the environment. The question is; – How do we facilitate the re-tuning of this neurological system in individuals who have autism

The newborn retreats into sleep, a self imposed dampening of incoming sensory information. Whilst the child with autism does not do this, many children with autism attempt to withdraw from their environment because they find it so threatening.

We believe at Snowdrop that for the child at the end of the autistic spectrum who is suffering an amplification of sensory stimulation, we should create a setting where he can retreat from a world, which is overwhelming his immature sensory system. This ‘adapted environment,’ which should be as free as possible from all visual, auditory, tactile and olfactory stimulation will serve as a milieu where his sensory system can re-tune itself. Of course it may just be a single sense like vision, or hearing, or tactility, or any combination of senses, which are causing the difficulties and the environment may be adapted appropriately. The child suffering these difficulties will usually welcome this adapted environment, which is in effect a ’safe haven’ for his immature sensory system. He should be given free access to, or placed within the adapted environment as needed and you will notice hopefully that he will relax and begin to enjoy being within its safe confines, where there are no sensory surprises.

This procedure should be continued for as long as necessary, – for several weeks or months. Indeed, some children might always need periods of time within the ’safe haven.’ As the child begins to accept and be at ease in his safe haven, stimulation in whatever sensory modality is causing the difficulties, should begin to be introduced at a very low level, so low in fact that it is hardly noticeable. If the child tolerates this, then it can be used more frequently until it becomes an accepted part of the sensory environment. If the child reacts negatively in any way, then the stimulus is withdrawn and reintroduced at a later date. In this way, we can very gradually begin to build the level of tolerance, which the child has towards the stimulus.

For the child at the other end of the autistic spectrum, the child whose sensory attentional system is not exciting the cortex enough, with the consequence that he is not noticing enough of the stimulation in his sensory environment, the approach needs to be the exact opposite. These are the children who we see producing self-stimulatory behaviour. I believe that this behaviour is an attempt by the nervous system to provide itself with what it needs from the environment, – a sensory message of greater intensity! We see many children with autism ‘flapping’ their hands in front of their eyes, or becoming visually obsessed by certain toys, movements, colours etc. I propose that this is a reaction by the nervous system to attempt to increase the intensity, frequency and duration of the sensory stimulus due to a problem with perceiving visual stimuli from the environment.

Of course, children with autism display a far greater range of difficulties than a theory, focused upon a malfunctioning sensory – attentional system could explain. I am not attempting to claim that sensory problems on their own are an adequate explanation for every facet of autism, – that would be ridiculous! This is merely a possible explanation of a range of issues experienced by some children who have autism, which could be produced or exacerbated by the child suffering distortions of sensory perception. For instance, the following symptoms within the autistic spectrum could possibly be explained at the sensory level.





Failure to make eye contact.





Difficulty in sharing attention with anyone.





Avoiding interaction with others





Avoiding physical contact





Seeming disconnected from the environment.





Appearing not to notice anything visually.





Visual distraction, as though the child is looking at something which you cannot see.





Visual obsession with particular features of the environment.





Inability to ’switch’ visual attention from one feature of the environment to another.





General discomfort with the visual environment.





Appearing not to hear anything.





Auditory distraction, as though listening to something which you cannot hear.





Auditory obsession with particular sounds within the environment.





Inability to ’switch’ auditory attention from one sound within the environment to another.





Inability to ‘tune out’ extraneous sounds in the environment.





General discomfort with the auditory environment.





Appearing not to feel much sensation.





Appearing to bee distracted by tactile stimuli of which you are not aware.





Obsession with particular tactile sensations within the environment.





Appears unable to ’switch’ tactile attention from one sensation to another.





General discomfort with the tactile environment.





Difficulty in communicating with others.





 

 

We believe at Snowdrop, that our sensory re-tuning environments offer the best chance for children to overcome such distortions of sensory perception.

 

peterhutch asked:


 

Autism is a lifelong disorder. It interferes with a person’s ability to understand what he or she sees, hears, and touches. For this reason, a person with autism has very difficult problems knowing how to behave properly and how to interact with other people. The person has to be taught behaviors that develop normally in most people. Autism varies in its degree of severity among individuals.

Autism is the common term for a range of disabilities medically classified as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). Autism/PDD is characterized by qualitative differences in the development of cognitive, language, social or motor skills, and these are usually apparent before age three. Research evidence suggests that autism may result from an underlying difficulty with expressive movement and its regulation, severely challenging the individual to keep body movements, including sensory responses, in control.

There is no known single cause, but it is generally accepted that autism is caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function. Brain scans show differences in the shape and structure of the brain in autistic children vs. non-autistic children. Studies of twins and siblings suggest that there may be a genetic component. In addition, an increased frequency of occurrence is noted in people with genetic conditions such as fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis.

Autism is a spectrum disorder. The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, but children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity. Two children with autism can act very differently from one another and have varying skills. The list of symptoms and behaviors associated with autism is long, and each affected person expresses his or her own combination of these behaviors.

Autism is a disorder that appears in early childhood, causing delays in many basic areas of development such as learning to talk and interact with others. The symptoms of autism vary widely, as does the impact of the disorder: some autistic children have only mild impairments, while others have more obstacles to overcome.

Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and twirling, or in self-abusive behavior such as biting or head-banging. They also tend to start speaking later than other children and may refer to themselves by name instead of “I” or “me.” Children with autism don’t know how to play interactively with other children. Some speak in a sing-song voice about a narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the person to whom they are speaking.

Communication is usually severely impaired in autistic persons. What the individual understands (receptive language) as well as what is actually spoken by the individual (expressive language) is significantly delayed or nonexistent. Deficits in language comprehension include the inability to understand simple directions, questions, or commands.

People with a form of autism, called savantism, have exceptional skills in specific areas such as music, art, and numbers. People with savantism are able to perform these skills without lessons or practice.