Austism is a mental disorder that children get before the age of 3 years old.
This link has been bookmarked by 101 people . It was first bookmarked on 12 Jul 2007, by kwahlf.
-
29 May 15
-
highly
-
-
31 Mar 15
-
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior.
-
Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior.
-
Autism is highly heritable, but the cause includes both environmental factors and genetic susceptibility.
-
In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects.
-
Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.
-
Although there is no known cure,[2] there have been reported cases of children who recovered.
-
-
27 Jan 15
-
s a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior.
-
autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects.[
-
It is one of three recognized disorders in the
-
(ASDs), the other two being
-
Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.[10]
-
no known cure
-
children who recovered.
-
hildren with autism gain self-care, social, and communication skills.
-
peech interventions can help c
-
ndependently after reaching adulthood, though some become successful
-
our to five times more often in boys than girl
-
1.5% of children
-
iagnosed with ASD
-
one in 68
-
s estimated at about 1–2 per 1,000 people worldwide,
-
18 years and over in the United Kingdom is 1.1%.
-
diagnosed has been increasing
-
utism is a highly variable neurodevelopmental disorder
-
not by a single sympto
-
A young boy with autism who has arranged his toys in a row
-
ow autism occurs is not well understood. Its mechanism can be divided into two areas: the pathophysiology of brain structures and processes associated with autism, and the neuropsychological linkages between brain structures and behaviors.[64] The behaviors appear to have multiple pathophysiologies.
-
The immune system is thought to play an important role in autism.
-
-
his is supported by recent studies that have found that infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of autism
-
Autistic individuals tend to use different areas of the brain (yellow) for a movement task compared to a control group (blue).[90]
-
30% extra education and other care, and 60% lost economic productivity
-
Publicly supported programs are often inadequate or inappropriate for a given child, and unreimbursed out-of-pocket medical or therapy expenses are associated with likelihood of family financial problems;[156] one 2008 US study found a 14% average loss of annual income in families of children with ASD,[157] and a related study found that ASD is associated with higher probability that child care problems will greatly affect parental employment.[158] US states increasingly require private health insurance to cover autism services, shifting costs from publicly funded education programs to privately funded health insurance.[159] After childhood, key treatment issues include residential care, job training and placement, sexuality, social skills, and estate planning.[160]
-
-
31 Oct 14
-
17 Jun 14
putterillThis article is about the classic autistic disorder; some writers use the word autism when referring to the range of disorders on the autism spectrum or to the various pervasive developmental disorders.
-
17 May 14
-
24 Apr 14
illysillerExplains what autism is and goes into depth about the different symptoms and characteristics of somebody with autism
-
23 Feb 14
-
26 Jan 14
-
- Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
- Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved
-
Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities
-
Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity
-
no known medication relieves autism's core symptoms of social and communication impairments
-
Sleep problems are associated with difficult behaviors and family stress
-
-
16 Jan 14
-
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report 20 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD as of 2012[update], up from 11 per 1,000 in 2008
-
The number of people diagnosed with autism has been increasing dramatically since the 1980s
-
partly due to changes in diagnostic practice and government-subsidized financial incentives for named diagnoses
-
the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.[9]
-
Hence, a substantial fraction of autism cases may be traceable to genetic causes that are highly heritable but not inherited: that is, the mutation that causes the autism is not present in the parental genome
-
All known teratogens (agents that cause birth defects) related to the risk of autism appear to act during the first eight weeks from conception, and though this does not exclude the possibility that autism can be initiated or affected later, it is strong evidence that autism arises very early in development.[6]
-
Environmental factors that have been claimed to contribute to or exacerbate autism, or may be important in future research, include certain foods, infectious disease, heavy metals, solvents, diesel exhaust, PCBs, phthalates and phenols used in plastic products, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs, vaccines,[9] and prenatal stress,[56] although no links have been found, and some have been completely disproven.
-
Disturbed neuronal migration during early gestation
-
Disrupted synaptic development may also contribute to epilepsy, which may explain why the two conditions are associated
-
Interactions between the immune system and the nervous system begin early during the embryonic stage of life, and successful neurodevelopment depends on a balanced immune response. Aberrant immune activity during critical periods of neurodevelopment is possibly part of the mechanism of some forms of ASD.[71][72] Although some abnormalities in the immune system have been found in specific subgroups of autistic individuals, it is not known whether these abnormalities are relevant to or secondary to autism's processes.[73] As autoantibodies are found in conditions other than ASD, and are not always present in ASD,[74] the relationship between immune disturbances and autism remains unclear and controversial
-
The role of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR) in the pathogenesis of fragile X syndrome, the most common identified genetic cause of autism, has led to interest in the possible implications for future autism research into this pathway.[76] Some data suggest an increase in several growth hormones; other data argue for diminished growth factors.[77] Also, some inborn errors of metabolism are associated with autism, but probably account for less than 5% of cases.[78]
-
ASD-related patterns of low function and aberrant activation in the brain differ depending on whether the brain is doing social or nonsocial tasks.[84] In autism there is evidence for reduced functional connectivity of the default network, a large-scale brain network involved in social and emotional processing, with intact connectivity of the task-positive network, used in sustained attention and goal-directed thinking. In people with autism the two networks are not negatively correlated in time, suggesting an imbalance in toggling between the two networks, possibly reflecting a disturbance of self-referential thought.[85] A 2008 brain-imaging study found a specific pattern of signals in the cingulate cortex which differs in individuals with ASD
-
The underconnectivity theory of autism hypothesizes that autism is marked by underfunctioning high-level neural connections and synchronization, along with an excess of low-level processes.[87] Evidence for this theory has been found in functional neuroimaging studies on autistic individuals[35] and by a brainwave study that suggested that adults with ASD have local overconnectivity in the cortex and weak functional connections between the frontal lobe and the rest of the cortex.[88] Other evidence suggests the underconnectivity is mainly within each hemisphere of the cortex and that autism is a disorder of the association cortex.[89]
-
considerable evidence for differences in autistic individuals with respect to attention, orientiation to auditory and visual stimuli, novelty detection, language and face processing, and information storage; several studies have found a preference for nonsocial stimuli.[90] For example, magnetoencephalography studies have found evidence in autistic children of delayed responses in the brain's processing of auditory signals
-
research showed that schizophrenia and autism are significantly more common in combination with 1q21.1 deletion syndrome.
-
Simon Baron-Cohen's empathizing–systemizing theory postulates that autistic individuals can systemize—that is, they can develop internal rules of operation to handle events inside the brain—but are less effective at empathizing by handling events generated by other agents
-
An extension, the extreme male brain theory, hypothesizes that autism is an extreme case of the male brain, defined psychometrically as individuals in whom systemizing is better than empathizing
-
hypothesizes that autistic behavior arises from an inability to ascribe mental states to oneself and others. The theory of mind hypothesis is supported by autistic children's atypical responses to the Sally–Anne test for reasoning about others' motivations,[93] and the mirror neuron system theory of autism described in Pathophysiology maps well to the hypothesis.[80] However, most studies have found no evidence of impairment in autistic individuals' ability to understand other people's basic intentions or goals; instead, data suggests that impairments are found in understanding more complex social emotions or in considering others' viewpoints
-
-
Tests of core executive processes such as eye movement tasks indicate improvement from late childhood to adolescence, but performance never reaches typical adult levels.[96] A strength of the theory is predicting stereotyped behavior and narrow interests;[97] two weaknesses are that executive function is hard to measure[95] and that executive function deficits have not been found in young autistic children.[27]
-
Weak central coherence theory hypothesizes that a limited ability to see the big picture underlies the central disturbance in autism. One strength of this theory is predicting special talents and peaks in performance in autistic people.[98] A related theory—enhanced perceptual functioning—focuses more on the superiority of locally oriented and perceptual operations in autistic individuals.[99] These theories map well from the underconnectivity theory of autism.
-
Neither category is satisfactory on its own; social cognition theories poorly address autism's rigid and repetitive behaviors, while the nonsocial theories have difficulty explaining social impairment and communication difficulties.[49] A combined theory based on multiple deficits may prove to be more useful
-
exhibiting at least six symptoms total, including at least two symptoms of qualitative impairment in social interaction, at least one symptom of qualitative impairment in communication, and at least one symptom of restricted and repetitive behavior.
-
Several diagnostic instruments are available. Two are commonly used in autism research: the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) is a semistructured parent interview, and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)[102] uses observation and interaction with the child. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) is used widely in clinical environments to assess severity of autism based on observation of children.
-
-
09 Dec 13
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication, and by restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behavior.
-
Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants.[5] In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects.[6] Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes, such as heavy metals, pesticides or childhood vaccines;[7] the vaccine hypotheses are biologically implausible and lack convincing scientific evidence.[8] The prevalence of autism is about 1–2 per 1,000 people worldwide, and it occurs about four times more often in boys than girls.[9] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report 20 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD as of 2012[update], up from 11 per 1,000 in 2008.[10][11] The number of people diagnosed with autism has been increasing dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice and government-subsidized financial incentives for named diagnoses;[11] the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.[9]
-
Autism is a highly variable neurodevelopmental disorder[17] that first appears during infancy or childhood, and generally follows a steady course without remission.[18] Overt symptoms gradually begin after the age of six months, become established by age two or three years,[19] and tend to continue through adulthood, although often in more muted form.[20] It is distinguished not by a single symptom, but by a characteristic triad of symptoms: impairments in social interaction; impairments in communication; and restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis.[21] Autism's individual symptoms occur in the general population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line separating pathologically severe from common traits.[22]
Social development
-
about others that many people take for granted. Noted autistic Temple Grandin described her inability to understand the social communication of neurotypicals, or people with normal neural development, as leaving her feeling "like an anthropologist on Mars".[23]
Unusual social development becomes apparent early in childhood. Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name. Autistic toddlers differ more strikingly from social norms; for example, they have less eye contact and turn taking, and do not have the ability to use simple movements to express themselves, such as the deficiency to point at things.[24] Three- to five-year-old autistic children are less likely to exhibit social understanding, approach others spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, communicate nonverbally, and take turns with others. However, they do form attachments to their primary caregivers.[25] Most autistic children display moderately less attachment security than non-autistic children, although this difference disappears in children with higher mental development or less severe ASD.[26] Older children and adults with ASD perform worse on tests of face and emotion recognition.[27]
Children with high-functioning autism suffer from more intense and frequent loneliness compared to non-autistic peers, despite the common belief that children with autism prefer to be alone. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autis
-
-
04 Dec 13
katie gothardtheir resources could be helpful??
-
13 Oct 13
-
04 Oct 13
-
27 Sep 13
Taylor PollockAutism is a disorder of neural development characterized as impaired social interactions and non-verbal communication is more common.
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication, and by restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behavior.
-
diagnostic criteria
-
symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old
-
-
28 Jul 13
-
02 Jun 13
Kathryn De VriesAutism-Moodle Computer Class. Autism is a disorder of neural development. Although there is not a known cure, some have been told to have children who have recovered. Autism has a strong genetic basis also.
-
17 May 13
-
restricted and repetitive behavior
-
impaired social interaction and communication,
-
affects information processing in the brain
-
connect and organize
-
lacks delays in cognitive development and language
-
-
03 Apr 13
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old.[2] Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.[3] It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.
-
-
20 Mar 13
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old.[2] Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.[3] It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met
-
Social development
Social deficits distinguish autism and the related autism spectrum disorders (ASD; see Classification) from other developmental disorders.[20] People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that many people take for granted. Noted autistic Temple Grandin described her inability to understand the social communication of neurotypicals, or people with normal neural development, as leaving her feeling "like an anthropologist on Mars"
-
-
20 Feb 13
-
29 Jan 13
-
characterized
-
-
20 Nov 12
-
29 Oct 12
-
The number of people diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actu
-
Early behavioral or cognitive intervention can help autistic children gain self-care, social, and communication skills.[12] Although there is no known cure,[12] there have been reported cases of children who recovered.[14] Not many children with autism live independently after reaching adulthood, though some become successful.[15] An autistic culture has developed, with some individuals seeking a cure and others believing autism should be accepted as a difference and not treated as a disorder.
-
-
22 Jul 12
-
22 Apr 12
-
Autism affects information processing in the brain
-
It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs
-
Not many children with autism live independently after reaching adulthood, though some become successful.[15] An autistic culture has developed, with some individuals seeking a cure and others believing autism should be accepted as a difference and not treated as a disorder.[16]
-
-
03 Apr 12
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. For a diagnosis to be made, symptoms must become apparent before a child is three years old.[2] Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood
-
-
29 Mar 12
-
Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name.
-
Autistic toddlers differ more strikingly from social norms; for example, they have less eye contact and turn taking, and do not have the ability to use simple movements to express themselves, such as the deficiency to point at things
-
Children with high-functioning autism suffer from more intense and frequent loneliness compared to non-autistic peers, despite the common belief that children with autism prefer to be alone.
-
For them, the quality of friendships, not the number of friends, predicts how lonely they feel.
-
Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism
-
Differences in communication may be present from the first year of life, and may include delayed onset of babbling, unusual gestures, diminished responsiveness, and vocal patterns that are not synchronized with the caregiver.
-
Typically, autism cannot be traced to a Mendelian (single-gene) mutation or to a single chromosome abnormality, and none of the genetic syndromes associated with ASDs have been shown to selectively cause ASD
-
-
23 Mar 12
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted
-
-
15 Mar 12
SMJ8320 Jreserch for LA project
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior.
-
-
Social deficits distinguish autism and the related autism spectrum disorders (ASD; see Classification) from other developmental disorders.[20] People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that many people take for granted.
-
Children with high-functioning autism suffer from more intense and frequent loneliness compared to non-autistic peers, despite the common belief that children with autism prefer to be alone. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism
-
Autism is a highly variable neurodevelopmental disorder[17] that first appears during infancy or childhood, and generally follows a steady course without remission.
-
-
Autistic individuals display many forms of repetitive or restricted behavior, which the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R)[36] categorizes as follows.
-
- Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, making sounds, head rolling, or body rocking.
- Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
- Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
- Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.[36]
- Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.
- Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging.[4] A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD
-
-
27 Feb 12
-
05 Dec 11
-
- Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, making sounds, head rolling, or body rocking.
- Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
- Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
- Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.[36]
- Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.
- Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging.[4] A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD.[29]
A young boy with autism, and the precise line of toys he madeNo single repetitive or self-injurious behavior seems to be specific to autism, but only autism appears to have an elevated pattern of occurrence and severity of these behaviors.[37]
-
Reports of autism cases per 1,000 children grew dramatically in the US from 1996 to 2007. It is unknown how much, if any, growth came from changes in autism's prevalence.
-
-
06 Nov 11
-
02 Nov 11
-
28 Oct 11
-
26 Jul 11
-
14 Jul 11
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old.[2] Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.[3] It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (commonly abbreviated as PDD-NOS), which is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism or Asperger syndrome are not met.[4]
-
whether
-
-
21 Apr 11
-
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old.[2
-
Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants.[5] In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects.[6
-
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports approximately 9 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD.[9][10] The number of people diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.[11]
-
Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life.
-
Not many children with autism live independently after reaching adulthood, though some become successful
-
tinguish
-
-
04 Apr 11
-
altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize;
-
-
19 Feb 11
Dante-Gabryell MonsonRepetitive Behavior :
Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, making sounds, head rolling, or body rocking.
Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.
Sameness is resistance -
07 Feb 11
Goldn LocksAutism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the bra
-
22 Nov 10
-
-
one example is lowered activity in the fusiform face area of the brain, which is associated with impaired perception of people versus objects.[3] It has been proposed to classify autism using genetics as well as behavior.[57]
-
Autism's symptoms result from maturation-related changes in various systems of the brain. How autism occurs is not well understood. Its mechanism can be divided into two areas: the pathophysiology of brain structures and processes associated with autism, and the neuropsychological linkages between brain structures and behaviors.[67] The behaviors appear to have multiple pathophysiologies.[19]
-
-
-
12 Sep 10
-
24 Aug 10
-
03 Aug 10
-
It is one of three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive
-
It is one of three recognized disorders in the
-
it is unclear whether ASD is
-
strong genetic basis, although
-
-
15 Apr 10
-
07 Apr 10
-
22 Feb 10
-
are highly heritable but not inherited: that is, the mutation that causes the autism is not present in the parental genom
-
-
10 Dec 09
Aloha LavinaGeneral information about autism and some research about it.
-
04 Nov 09
-
26 Sep 09
-
01 Jul 09
-
04 May 09
-
Add Sticky NoteAutism is a brain-cell development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old.
-
-
Add Sticky Note
-
No known cure. Some grow out of their disorder by the time they reach adulthood.
Some rely on their parents for their whole lives.
-
-
-
12 Mar 09
-
24 Feb 09
-
26 Jan 09
-
23 Jan 09
-
The prevalence of ASD is about 6 per 1,000 people, with about four times as many boys as girls
-
Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old.[2] The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) also include related conditions with milder signs and symptoms.[3
-
Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by multigene interactions or by rare mutations with major effects.[
-
Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life.
-
impairments in social interaction; impairments in communication; and restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis
-
People with autism have social impairments and often lack the intuition about others that many people take for granted
-
Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name. Autistic toddlers have more striking social deviance; for example, they have less eye contact and anticipatory postures and are more likely to communicate by manipulating another person's hand.[16] Three- to five-year-old autistic children are less likely to exhibit social understanding, approach others spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, communicate nonverbally, and take turns with others. However, they do form attachments to their primary caregivers
-
A 2007 study interviewed parents of 67 children with ASD and reported that about two-thirds of the children had periods of severe tantrums and about one-third had a history of aggression, with tantrums significantly more common than in children with a history of language impairment.[21] A 2008 Swedish study found that, of individuals aged 15 or older discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of ASD, those who committed violent crimes were significantly more likely to have other psychopathological conditions such as psychosis.[22]
-
- Stereotypy is apparently purposeless movement, such as hand flapping, head rolling, or body rocking.
- Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in a certain way.
- Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
- Ritualistic behavior involves the performance of daily activities the same way each time, such as an unvarying menu or dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.[29]
- Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program or toy.
- Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as biting oneself. A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD.[21]
-
-
10 Jan 09
-
28 Nov 08
-
impairments in social interaction, impairments in communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior.
-
tantrums
-
delayed onset of babbling
-
10 Nov 08
-
Autism is a brain development disorder that is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old. This set of signs distinguishes autism from milder autism spectrum disorders (ASD) such as pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS).[2]
-
Other proposed causes, such as childhood vaccines, are controversial; the vaccine hypotheses lack convincing scientific evidence.[5] Most recent reviews estimate a prevalence of one to two cases per 1,000 people for autism, and about six per 1,000 for ASD, with ASD averaging a 4.3:1 male-to-female ratio. The number of people known to have autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, at least partly as a result of changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.[6]
-
Autism is a brain development disorder that first appears during infancy or childhood, and generally follows a steady course without remission.[10] Impairments result from maturation-related changes in various systems of the brain.[11] Autism is one of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), which are characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, and severely restricted interests and highly repetitive behavior.[
-
These symptoms do not imply sickness, fragility, or emotional disturbance.[12]
Of the other four PDD forms, Asperger syndrome is closest to autism in signs and likely causes;
-
Some studies have reported diagnoses of autism in children due to a loss of language or social skills, as opposed to a failure to make progress, typically from 15 to 30 months of age. The validity of this distinction remains controversial; it is possible that regressive autism is a specific subtype.[23][24][25][26]
-
The three main characteristics are impairments in social interaction, impairments in communication, restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Other aspects, such as atypical eating, are also common but are not essential for diagnosis.[30] Individual symptoms of autism occur in the general population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line separating pathological severity from common traits.[31]
-
Social impairments become apparent early in childhood and continue through adulthood. Autistic infants show less attention to social stimuli, smile and look at others less often, and respond less to their own name. Autistic toddlers have more striking social deviance; for example, they have less eye contact and anticipatory postures and are more likely to communicate by manipulating another person's hand.[26] Three- to five-year-old autistic children are less likely to exhibit social understanding, approach others spontaneously, imitate and respond to emotions, communicate nonverbally, and take turns with others.
-
Older children and adults with ASD perform worse on tests of face and emotion recognition.[35
-
Contrary to common belief, autistic children do not prefer to be alone. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism. For them, the quality of friendships, not the number of friends, predicts how lonely they are.[36]
-
here are many anecdotal reports, but few systematic studies, of aggression and violence in individuals with ASD. The limited data suggest that in children with mental retardation, autism is associated with aggression, destruction of property, and tantrums. Dominick et al. interviewed the parents of 67 children with ASD and reported that about two-thirds of the children had periods of severe tantrums and about one-third had a history of aggression, with tantrums significantly more common than in children with a history of language impairment.[37] A 2008 Swedish study found that, of individuals aged 15 or older discharged from hospital with a diagnosis of ASD, those who committed violent crimes were significantly more likely to have other psychopathological conditions such as psychosis.[38]
-
About a third to a half of individuals with autism do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs.[39] Differences in communication may be present from the first year of life, and may include delayed onset of babbling, unusual gestures, diminished responsiveness, and the desynchronization of vocal patterns with the caregiver. In the second and third years, autistic children have less frequent and less diverse babbling, consonants, words, and word combinations; their gestures are less often integrated with words. Autistic children are less likely to make requests or share experiences, and are more likely to simply repeat others' words (echolalia)[25][40] or reverse pronouns.
-
high-functioning autistic children aged 8–15 performed equally well, and adults better than individually matched controls at basic language tasks involving vocabulary and spelling. Both autistic groups performed worse than controls at complex language tasks such as figurative language, comprehension and inference.
-
- Stereotypy is apparently purposeless movement, such as hand flapping, head rolling, or body rocking.
- Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in a certain way.
- Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.
- Ritualistic behavior involves the performance of daily activities the same way each time, such as an unvarying menu or dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.[44]
- Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program.
- Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as biting oneself. Dominick et al. reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with ASD.[37]
-
Atypical eating behavior occurs in about three-quarters of children with ASD, to the extent that it was formerly a diagnostic indicator. Selectivity is the most common problem, although eating rituals and food refusal also occur;[37] this does not appear to result in malnutrition. Although some children with autism also have gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, there is a lack of published rigorous data to support the theory that autistic children have more or different GI symptoms than usual;[49] studies report conflicting results, and the relationship between GI problems and ASD is unclear.[7]
-
-
Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by multigene interactions or by rare mutations with major effects.[3] Complexity arises due to interactions among multiple genes, the environment, and epigenetic factors which do not change DNA but are heritable and influence gene expression.[12] Early studies of twins estimated heritability explains more than 90% of the risk of autism, assuming a shared environment and no other genetic or medical syndromes.[16] However, most of the mutations that increase autism risk have not been identified. Typically, autism cannot be traced to a Mendelian (single-gene) mutation or to a single chromosome abnormality like Angelman syndrome or fragile X syndrome, and none of the genetic syndromes associated with ASDs has been shown to selectively cause ASD.[3] Numerous candidate genes have been located, with only small effects attributable to any particular gene.[3] The large number of autistic individuals with unaffected family members may result from copy number variations—spontaneous deletions or duplications in genetic material during meiosis.[55] Hence, a substantial fraction of autism cases may be traceable to genetic causes that are highly heritable but not inherited: that is, the mutation that causes the autism is not present in the parental genome.[54]
-
Environmental factors that have been claimed to contribute to or exacerbate autism, or may be important in future research, include certain foods, infectious disease, heavy metals, solvents, diesel exhaust, PCBs, phthalates and phenols used in plastic products, pesticides, brominated flame retardants, alcohol, smoking, illicit drugs, vaccines,[6] and prenatal stress.[58] Although parents may first become aware of autistic symptoms in their child around the time of a routine vaccination (and parental concern about vaccines has led to a decreasing uptake of childhood immunizations and an increasing likelihood of measles outbreaks), there is overwhelming scientific evidence showing no causal association between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, and no scientific evidence that the vaccine preservative thiomersal helps cause autism.[59]
-
- An excess of neurons that causes local overconnectivity in key brain regions.[64]
- Disturbed neuronal migration during early gestation.[65][66]
- Unbalanced excitatory-inhibitory networks.[66]
- Abnormal formation of synapses and dendritic spines,[66] for example, by modulation of the neurexin-neuroligin cell-adhesion system,[67] or by poorly regulated synthesis of synaptic protein.[68
-
About half of parents of children with ASD notice their child's unusual behaviors by age 18 months, and about four-fifths notice by age 24 months.[24] As postponing treatment may affect long-term outcome, any of the following signs is reason to have a child evaluated by a specialist without delay:
-
Diagnosis is based on behavior, not cause or mechanism.[31][95] Autism is defined in the DSM-IV-TR as exhibiting at least six symptoms total, including at least two symptoms of qualitative impairment in social interaction, at least one symptom of qualitative impairment in communication, and at least one symptom of restricted and repetitive behavior. Sample symptoms include lack of social or emotional reciprocity, stereotyped and repetitive use of language or idiosyncratic language, and persistent preoccupation with parts of objects. Onset must be prior to age three years, with delays or abnormal functioning in either social interaction, language as used in social communication, or symbolic or imaginative play
-
ASD can sometimes be diagnosed by age 14 months, although diagnosis becomes increasingly stable over the first three years of life: for example, a one-year-old who meets diagnostic criteria for ASD is less likely than a three-year-old to continue to do so a few years later.[24] In the UK the National Autism Plan for Children recommends at most 30 weeks from first concern to completed diagnosis and assessment, though few cases are handled that quickly in practice.[96] A 2006 U.S. study found the average age of first evaluation by a qualified professional was 48 months and of formal ASD diagnosis was 61 months, reflecting an average 13-month delay, all far above recommendations.[101] Although the symptoms of autism and ASD begin early in childhood, they are sometimes missed; adults may seek diagnoses to help them or their friends and family understand themselves, to help their employers make adjustments, or in some locations to claim disability living allowances or other benefits.[102]
-
Although many alternative therapies and interventions are available, few are supported by scientific studies.[35][116][117] Treatment approaches have little empirical support in quality-of-life contexts, and many programs focus on success measures that lack predictive validity and real-world relevance.[36] Scientific evidence appears to matter less to service providers than program marketing, training availability, and parent requests.[118] Though most alternative treatments, such as melatonin, have only mild adverse effects[119] some may place the child at risk. A 2008 study found that compared to their peers, autistic boys have significantly thinner bones if on casein-free diets;[120] in 2005, botched chelation therapy killed a five-year-old child with autism.[121
-
Most children with autism lack social support, meaningful relationships, future employment opportunities or self-determination.[36] Although core difficulties remain, symptoms often become less severe in later childhood.[107] Few high-quality studies address long-term prognosis. Some adults show modest improvement in communication skills, but a few decline; no study has focused on autism after midlife.[126] Acquiring language before age six, having an IQ above 50, and having a marketable skill all predict better outcomes; independent living is unlikely with severe autism.[
-
The risk of autism is associated with several prenatal and perinatal risk factors. A 2007 review of risk factors found associated parental characteristics that included advanced maternal age, advanced paternal age, and maternal place of birth outside Europe or North America, and also found associated obstetric conditions that included low birth weight and gestation duration, and hypoxia during childbirth.[132]
Autism is associated with several other conditions:
-
The word autism first took its modern sense in 1938 when Hans Asperger of the Vienna University Hospital adopted Bleuler's terminology "autistic psychopaths" in a lecture in German about child psychology.[144] Asperger was investigating a form of ASD now known as Asperger syndrome, though for various reasons it was not widely recognized as a separate diagnosis until 1981.[142] Leo Kanner of the Johns Hopkins Hospital first used autism in its modern sense in English when he introduced the label early infantile autism in a 1943 report of 11 children with striking behavioral similarities.[41] Almost all the characteristics described in Kanner's first paper on the subject, notably "autistic aloneness" and "insistence on sameness", are still regarded as typical of the autistic spectrum of disorders.[53] It is not known whether Kanner derived the term independently of Asperger.[13]
-
-
26 Sep 08
-
18 Jul 08
-
29 Jan 08
-
20 Oct 07
-
02 Oct 07
-
12 Jul 07
-
17 Jun 07
-
24 Aug 05
Public Stiky Notes
Some rely on their parents for their whole lives.
Would you like to comment?
Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.