Autism: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment for autism.

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Autism

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Overview of autism
Causes od autism
Risk Factors for autism
Signs and Symptoms of autism
Diagnosis of autism
Treatment for autism
Prevention of autism
Living with Autism

Overview of autism

Autism is a developmental disorder of the brain. It affects children with age less than 3 years. It is characterized by a problem with social interaction, impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication and a pattern of repetitive behavior with narrow, restricted interests.

Autism is classified as one of a group of disorders known as the pervasive development disorders (PDD) by the American Psychiatric Association. In addition, PDD include Asperger syndrome, which is a childhood disintegrative disorder. This group of disorders is sometimes called the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Autism goes without diagnosis until the child enters school. Autism is highly genetic and genetics of autism is complex and unclear about the genes responsible for this disorder.¹

This illness is poorly understood as it affects many parts of the brain. Observable signs can be seen within the first two years of life. Early intervention can help the child regain skills, social behavior and self-care as there is no cure to this illness.²

Occurance of autism in different groups

Studies suggest that the prevalence of autism is 1–2per 1000 globally.³The number of reported cases of autism increased dramatically in the 1990s and early 2000s. This rise is contributed by factors like changes in diagnostic practices, referral patterns, availability of services, age at diagnosis and public awareness.⁴

Autism is found to be associated with several other conditions like genetic disorders, mental retardation, epilepsy and metabolic defects.^5–8

Causes of autism

Various factors contribute to the causes of autism. Some of them are Exposing to infections especially in the rubella epidemic during pregnancy increase the risk of autism in just born etc.

Risk Factors for autism

Risk factors for autism

A review conducted in 2007 has found that advanced maternal and paternal age, prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal infections, exposure to toxic agents, obstetric conditions like low birth weight, decreased gestation period and hypoxia during child birth are the risk factors of autism.

Signs and Symptoms of autism

Children with autism may show normal development for the first few months or years. Later they become less responsive. Signs and symptoms widely vary in children.

Diagnosis of autism

Diagnosis is based on the behavior, signs and symptoms.¹¹After initial identification, specialists like a child psychologist or a developmental pediatrician do assessments. They use a variety of methods like a standardardized rating scale to identify the disorder.

Treatment for autism

Treatment of autism

There is no cure for autism. Proper treatment and education can help the child to learn and develop.¹² Treatment depends on the condition and individual needs of the patient. Combination of treatment methods is more effective as autism requires lifelong treatment.

Prevention of autism

Autism can be prevented by

Avoiding drugs during pregnancy

Avoiding alcoholic beverages

Immunization against rubella

Living with Autism

Living with autism

It is very difficult to raise a child with autism. The parents experience a lot of stress to meet the demands of the child. Recognizing the problem and preparing one’s self to face the challenges ahead would be helpful and make a tremendous difference.

Written by: healthplus24.com
Date last modified: April 20, 2012

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References

Freitag CM. The genetics of autistic disorders and its clinical relevance: A review of the literature. Mol Psychiatry. 2007; 12(1): 2–22.
Myers SM, Johnson CP, Council on children with disabilities. Management of children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics. 2007; 120(5): 1162–1182.
Newschaffer CJ, Croen LA, Daniels J, Grether, Susan EL, David S.. The epidemiology of autism spectrum disorders. Annu Rev Public Health. 2007; 28: 235–258.
Wing L, Potter D. The epidemiology of autistic spectrum disorders: is the prevalence rising?. Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev. 2002; 8(3): 151–161
Folstein SE, Rosen-Sheidley B. Genetics of autism: Complex aetiology for a heterogeneous disorder. Nat Rev Genet. 2001; 2(12): 943–955.
Chakrabarti S, Fombonne E. Pervasive developmental disorders in preschool children. JAMA. 2001; 285(24): 3093–3099.
Levisohn PM. The autism-epilepsy connection. Epilepsia. 2007; 48(Suppl 9): 33–35.
Manzi B, Loizzo AL, Giana G, et al. Autism and metabolic diseases. J Child Neurol. 2007.
Yang MS, Gill M. A review of gene linkage, association and expression studies in autism and an assessment of convergent evidence. Int J Dev Neurosci. 2007; 25(2): 69–85.
Kolevzon A, Gross R, Reichenberg A. Prenatal and perinatal risk factors for autism. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007; 161(4): 326–333.
Baird G, Cass H, Slonims V. Diagnosis of autism. BMJ. 2003; 327(7413): 488–449.
Available at: http://www.autism.com/treatable/treatingphysicalsymptoms.htm Accessed on: 24th Mar, 2008
Available at: www.neurologychannel.com/autism/treatment.shtml. Accessed on: 24th Mar, 2008.