Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

About 1 in 54 children has been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from
CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network.

ASD is more than 4 times more common among boys than among girls.

Our brains have the same developmental milestones and learn the same type of skills at a common period of
time. These are things like language and communication, congnitive skills, socializing .

If any of those do not develop properly

during the brain development, depending of
the severity, it may be described as a
Neurological disorder.

ASD consists of a spectrum used to

differentiate the clinical presentations of
Autism, based on the severity of two major
areas:

1. Social and communication and interactions deficit: an autistic patient may prefer to interact with
people, might use non-verbal communication; he can have difficulties in mentaining relationships

2. Repetitive or restricted activities, behaviour or interests: can arrange toys, might have flapping hands,
imitating, might be fixed on certain routines, repeats the same sentences

Other manifestations include: autistic infants do not respond when being called, they speak about themselves
referring to the 3rd person, might be agressive with himself or others around him.

Causes of ASD include: genetic inherited mutations, mutations of certain genes that occur during pregnancy ,
aswell as environmental factors. Even so, there are few chances that a child will develop Autism. Studies
have shown that there are several risk factors that can lead to ASD:

- advanced age of the parents

- Maternal Obesity
- Premature birth ( can occur after heroin or other opioids maternal consumption)
- Folic acid deficiency during pregnancy
- Viran infections
 Later on, autistic teenagers can develop other behavioral disorders like: depression , obsessive-
compulsive disorder, anxiety or ADHD.

There is no specific treatment for ASD, but vitamins and behavioral therapy seems to improve the
symptoms of the patients . There are studies that prove an improvement in neuronal regeneration with stem
cells, leading to a possible better life for this individuals. Prevention is important, and it consists of genetic
testing during pregnancy and eliminate the risk factors as: folic acid deficit of the mother , alcohol ingestion,
drugs and other medications.