Autism
I will be discussing the ways to receive, treat, and cope with the disease, Autism. Autism occurs in fifteen out of every ten-thousand births, and is four times more common in boys than girls. Autism is a severely incapacitating lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life. It has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds. No known factors in the psychological environment of a child have been shown to cause autism.
Autism is not a genetic disorder, which means it is not passed down from generation to generation, as for example AIDS is. Autism occurs by itself or in association with other disorders that affect the function of the brain such as viral infections, metabolic disturbances, and epilepsy. It is important to distinguish autism from retardation or mental disorders since diagnostic confusion may result in referral to inappropriate and ineffective treatment techniques. The severe form of the syndrome may include extreme self-injurious, repetitive, highly unusual and aggressive behavior. Special educational programs using behavioral methods have proven to be most helpful treatment.
The understanding of autism has grown tremendously since it was first described in 1943. Some of the earlier searches for "cures" now seem unrealistic in terms of today's understanding of brain-based disorders. To cure means "to restore to health, soundness, or normality." In the medical sense, there is no cure for the differences in the brain which result in autism.
However, they are finding better ways to understand the disorder and help people cope with the various symptoms of the disability. Some of these symptoms may lessen as the child ages; others may disappear altogether. With appropriate intervention, many of the autism behaviors can be positively changed, even to the point that the child or adult may appear to the untrained person to no longer have autism. The...
View Full Essay