Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, has no apparent cause for happening, but scientists are getting closer to being able to spot the specific genes that could increase the risk for ASD. It's a disorder that can vary greatly in severity, symptoms, levels of impairment, and skills. There are five different types of autism, autism disorder (classic autism), Asperger's syndrome (AS), pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), Rett's disorder (Rett's syndrome, RS), and childhood disintegrative disorder (CDD). Autism is caused by a gene mutation. It's a disorder that has nothing to do with hereditary or family past.
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Autism is a developmental disability that causes problems with skills and communication, and can be mild or severe differing from person to person. Autism. 2013). Autism is from birth, meaning it can't be developed after birth. Symptoms can get better or worse with time, depending on certain dietary plans and medicines. Some autistic symptoms, however, can occur after a traumatic brain injury or TBI. Autism isn't present in a person after such an injury. ASD has many different forms and conditions. Autism isn't just one disease, but an entire spectrum of different abilities, communication problems, symptoms, and challenges.
Asperger's syndrome, or AS, is the mildest form of autism. AS is three times more likely to affect boys than girls. (Autism 2013). Children with AS generally find an object or topic and obsess over it, finding out everything they can about it and memorizing it. Often they'll talk nonstop about this topic. Where AS is mild most children are able to communicate slightly but still have some trouble with eye contact and some speech. Aspergers is also called "high-functioning autism" because those with AS usually have normal to above average intelligence. Children with AS are at high risk for anxiety or depression as they enter adulthood.
Anxiety is a "panic attack syndrome" meaning that at any moment, even in sleep, a panic attack can happen.They are sudden feelings of terror that can make the person believe they are having a heart attack or could die soon. (Anxiety, 2012).
Autism disorder, or classic autism, has been recently described as "mindblindedness" is a neurological and developmental disorder that usually appears during the first three years of life. Children's hospital of Wisconsin (CHM, 2013). Autism affects approximately 3-6 children out of every
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER 1,000. Males are four times more likely than females to have AS but girls who have it tend to have more severe symptoms and greater cognitive impairment. (Schoenstadt AD, 2008). Symptoms of autism vary from child to child but usually follow under the categories of difficulties with social interaction, such as making eye contact or participating in communication, even as little as a baby babbling. Also repetitive behaviors, like arm flapping, or being obsessed in a single object. (Schoenstadt AD, 2008 p. 2). Then, there is Pervasive development disorder, not otherwise specified, or PDD-NOS, which has the widest variety of symptoms and a later age of onset, this makes it very difficult to diagnose and is onset and diagnosed later than the rest of the ASD, by years even. (Weintrub PDD, 2013). A person is diagnosed with PDD-NOS if they have some behaviors seen in autism but don't meet the full criteria for having an autistic disorder. National Autism Resources (NAR, 2012). Symptoms of PDD are never the same, one could be extremely mild in one person but very severe in another. PDD social skill symptoms can include not interacting with others, not making eye contact and wanting to be alone, not wanting to be held or even touched, and not noticing when other people talk to them. (Schoenstadt, PDD, 2006). Roughly 40 percent of PDD children don't even talk. Some have echolalia, which is when they repeat back