Autism

In the last few decades, the amount of diagnosed cases of autism increased drastically. Most
people believe this is caused by better access to diagnoses and the clarification of the notion of what
autism is. In this essay, I will summarize what we know about the causes, signs and treatments of
autism.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disability caused by abnormal
development of the central nervous system. Because it is a spectrum, every autistic individual
displays varying symptoms. It is estimated that around one per cent of the world population has
autism and only about one in five cases is a woman. The diagnosis is done based on symptoms
present usually between the first and the second year of life.
The exact cause of autism is still a mystery. It is most likely genetic even though autism has
been linked to environmental factors. Some examples of those factors are prenatal alcohol and drug
usage, some diseases, toxins and inhaling polluted air. Despite the popular theory, which has been
disproven multiple times, vaccines do not cause autism.
ASD is mainly manifested in communication difficulties and repetitive behaviour. Some more
specific signs of autism, which we have already seen in Christopher Boone and Temple Grandin, are
abnormal voice tone, speech delay, monotone voice, fixation on specific topics, lack of empathy,
inability to read social cues (gestures, body language, facial expressions), learning issues,
disconnection from peers, unusual reactions in social settings, difficulties with understanding
metaphors and above or under sensitive sense.
Sensory processing disorder (SPD) is a neurophysiological condition which can affect all five
senses, balance, motor skills and body awareness. It is quite common in combination with autism. It
affects the sense of touch by giving the person an aversion to being touched, preferences in textures,
inability to feel low or high temperatures and pain tolerance. SPD can cause strange colour
preferences and high sensitivity to light. Taste, smell and hearing are influenced in similar ways. If
one of the senses receives too much information, it might become over-stimulated and the individual
might experience sensory overload. To stop that from happening autistic people do what is called
‘stimming’ which means that they do a repeated activity to calm down and regain control over
themselves. They often clap, rock, blink, repeat sounds, pace, snap fingers, jump, pull their hair, bang
their head and bite or scratch themselves.
Today, someone with autism is simply diagnosed with ASD but before the year 2013, their
diagnosis could be a particular disorder like Asperger’s syndrome which typically causes faulty motor
skills, a need to follow patterns, special interests and poor communication skills although speech and
language are not delayed. Patients with Kenner’s syndrome also known as autistic disorder are
usually considered low functioning as a result of poor communication skills which make it practically
impossible to understand their minds. Individuals with Kenner’s syndrome tend to have
hypersensitive senses, limited ability to create emotional connections and they always need to follow
a strict routine. Pervasive development disorder - not otherwise specified was a diagnosis used in
cases of unusual symptoms. A rare type of autism was childhood disintegrative or Heller’s syndrome.
It was responsible for the loss of previously mastered skills and showing signs of autism unusually
late. Also, before the year 2013, the terms PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) and ASD used to
be interchangeable and another disorder that belongs to PDD but not to ASD is Rett syndrome. Rett
syndrome is caused by a gene mutation and it is almost always found in women because the gene
mutation leads to death in men although even women with it die relatively young.
 The diagnosis of autism is a long process that involves a parent interview, a medical exam, an
observation, a hearing test and a lead screening because lead poisoning can cause symptoms similar
to autism. What follows next are tests for the child that will help with finding the right therapy for
them. The child goes through speech and language evaluation, cognitive testing, adaptive
functioning assessment and sensory-motor evaluation.
There is no known cure for autism but with the right treatment, high-functioning autism
patients can manage their symptoms. There are many kinds of therapy. One of the most common is
occupational therapy which can help improve motor skills, coordination and balance. Another one is
applied behaviour analysis which uses rewards to reinforce good behaviour and helps to teach new
skills. Autism patients can also attend social skills classes or speech therapy. Because autism has
different symptoms in every person, the therapy should be individualized. In general, kids with higher
IQs tend to show better results. Owning a pet is also very beneficial for autistic children.
ASD is usually linked to other conditions. Some of those disorders are anxiety, depression,
bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, epilepsy, Tourette syndrome,
sleep disorders, savant syndrome, intellectual disability, SPD, multiple metabolic defects and minor
physical anomalies and genetic disorders.
Autism is still quite a mystery to us. We do not know what causes it but what is important is
that we know how to help the people who have it. Hopefully, more research will bring more answers
to help us understand how different people’s minds work.