There are many minors and adults around the world that suffer from a disorder called Autism. Eugen Bleuler was the first to classify a group with schizophrenic symptoms as Autism, (Ashok 2012) Autism is a disorder that influences the brains normal development. For example, social and developmental. It is a complex neurobehavioral disorder that includes deterioration in meeting new people and developing language skills mixed with firm repetitive behaviors. It is mostly associated with cerebral disabilities, motor coordination, attention and physical health issues. This disorder normally develops before the age of 3. Autism is a disorder that generally does what it wants when it wants, and most of the time many people don’t even realize that the disorder is in them. In the journal, “A Nervous Child,” Dr. Leo Kanner published a book on Autism called “Autistic Disturbance of Affective Contact in 1943. He reported on 11 children who showed a distinct lack of interest in other people, but an extremely unusual interest in the inanimate environment” (Cohmer 2014). He talked about how each child deals with Autism, and how the environment plays a significant role.
Some of the early signs of Autism is not smiling or not having any joyful expressions by the age of 6 months. By the age of 9 months, they start to not share smiles or facial expressions. Then having a lack of gesture, for example pointing, waving and showing, by the age of 12 months. Then a few months go by and not saying words by the age of 16 months. Furthermore, not having in depth phrases by the age of 24 months or 2 years. Then at last the child can have loss of speech or they can babble at any age. The earlier you detect these signs the better understanding you have as to how to go about the next step, because these signs can be difficult for a parent to see in their child especially at a young age.
The one question most parents ask is How is Autism even caused? Well, the exact cause for Autism is unknown, and that’s because the human brain is very complicated. Most of the time it’s accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in the brain formation or function. The brain contains more than 100 billion nerve cells which are called neurons. These neurons have a specific connection that carry messages to other nerve cells which are found in the brain and the body. Neurotransmitters is what keeps the neurons powerful. For example, being able to touch a particular object, the actions, experiences and emotions and also communication. However if you’re a kid with Autism, the brain cells don’t grow and sometimes their connection don’t develop like they actually should. In reality, a doctor will do a screening of the child to see how he or she learns and takes into note how they act while playing with them and talking with the parent. Doctors will also do a Comprehensive Diagnostic Evaluation, in which it would include a hearing, seeing, genetic and neurological testing. Another point is that people usually do not get Autism from genetics. People with genetic tendency to Autism may be passed down to their children. Overall, the exact cause of Autism is unknown.
There are different types of Autism. For example, Autistic Disorder, Asperger’s Syndrome in which there are impairments in social interaction. Another is Rett’s Disorder, in which it’s a progressive disorder where it has only occurred in girls. Lastly, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, which is characterized by normal development for the first two years then followed by significant loss of previously obtained skills. All of these have one thing in common and that is its symptoms. The one symptom that is common to all of these types of Autism is the inability to easily communicate and interact with other people. Individuals who fall under the Autism Disorder category exhibit commonalities in communication and social defects.
Fixing this disorder would make the doctors, parents and also the children happy. Regretfully, at this very moment there isn’t really a cure for this disorder. The treatments for Autism change depending on the needs of the person itself. Universally, treatments fall into four categories: Behavioral and communication therapy, medical and food therapy, occupational and physical therapy and complementary therapy (music or art). Also, the only thing that anyone can do right now is to make the person smile, feel loved, and at peace.
Autism is a complex developmental disability and there are new studies that show early brain development in younger children are at a higher risk for Autism. The studies showed that “Brain enlargement has been observed in children with Autism, but the timing of this phenomenon, and the relationship between Autism and the appearance of the behavioral symptoms, are unknown,” (Hazlet,2017). The new studies make us aware of what we need to take caution of. They help us realize that we are really lucky to be living the lives we live if we don’t have this disability.
In conclusion, Autism is a developmental disorder that impacts humans and the way a person relates to their environment. it disrupts a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others. It has a big influence on processing information by changing how cells and synapse collect data. Researchers are still working on finding the exact causes of autism. There is not a single cause for Autism but preferably multiple abnormalities in the brain’s sequencing. Knowing the basics of Autism we now know that it can be difficult to understand some individuals as well as expressing their feelings. Lastly, every child and adult is different so the treatment will be different according to the person. If we ever come across an Autistic person we know to be patient, kind and sincere towards them.