People Suffering from Autism - Essay Example

Sohr Picart  Kaplan CM109 College Composition Causes of Autism: Early Detection and Cures: Autism is a natural abnormality caused by a disorder in the human neurological system that causes an unusual delay in human responsiveness towards the surroundings and the society. It is referred to as a disease of the brain that often results in the development of lack of communicative and linguistic capabilities in the affected people. Autistic people show delayed responses and experience a lot of difficulties in socializing with others. “It is the most well known of several pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) diagnoses which begin in early childhood and continue throughout life, affecting most every aspect of life along the way.” (Reynolds and Dombeck, 2006). Although the Autistic people show considerable delays in developing their cognitive as well as social skills as they encounter difficulties in analyzing the matters and reacting to them in an appropriate manner when compared with non-Autistic people, yet there is very less or no delay in the development and maturity of their motor skills and they move in quite a normal way. In most of the cases, an individual suffering from Autism would show abnormal delays in communication and his/her expression and delivery of speech. These symptoms are enough to cause the individual to be suspected for Autism and normally become the reason of their diagnosis of the same. People suffering from Autism are common to show the abnormalities and delays in speech and interaction as mention before, but the extent of abnormality is case specific and varies from individual to individual. Some of the affected people show severe delays in their comprehension and delivery of speech while others can be relatively quicker. Autism reflects in the behavior of children from the very early age and can easily be observed in the diseased child. A child suffering from Autism shows unusual patterns of speech and lags behind on certain social expressions which include but are not limited to lack of eye contact with the listener and plain unbiased expressions on the face of the child. The body language of an Autistic child clearly speaks out his/her Autism. This is not the case with normal children who are quite responsive towards the person interacting with them both in terms of their body language as well as their verbal language. A normal child observes and copies the expression of the adults and uses those expressions in support of his/her speech when he/she socializes with others. If one extends a finger towards a normal child, he/she would grab it unlike an Autistic child who would instead lay straight and do nothing. The Autistic child is not good at comprehending the meaning of various facial expressions and hence, can not incorporate them into his/her own speech. Also, the Autistic children take more time to develop an ability to speak to and socialize with others. Given these problems and complexities, one wonders what causes Autism and whether there is a cure for this condition or not. After conducting an in depth analysis of the problem, Roth wrote about his research on the causes of Autism. He stated that there is something obviously wrong in the brains of people suffering from Autism, and one of the chief symptoms of that is the difficulty they encounter in understanding the language (both verbal and bodily) and expression of other people. However, it is also noted in some observations and findings that many Autistic people have been known to be highly talented. Roth stated that what causes the social awkwardness is still debatable among the Neurologists. Roth argued that scientists from New York and Pittsburg published a study in the Journal Neuron that concluded that one of the most prominent theories conventionally put forward for explaining the causes of social problems in Autism is irrational. Roth stated that the theory involves brain cells known as “mirror neurons”, which were first discovered in a monkey’s brain about 15 years ago, and have since been identified in human brain. The knowledge of parents about their children extends far beyond the physical and cognitive dimensions; the nuances of behavior that doctors cannot see in a clinical setting. (Simontacchi, 2008). She also stated that when parent presents a child experiencing the complex range of symptoms that characterizes Autism to a pediatrician, the correct diagnosis might not be made right away. In most cases, according to Simontacchi, parents are told that their children are delayed on their development scale. The author said that Autism could be linked to allergens to Gluten and Casein and also the genetic defects in key genes that are coded for Methylation specifically, Methylene Tetradofolate Reductase (MTHFR) and Methionine Synthase Reductase (MTRR). To top all the above mentioned linkage to the causes of autism, author Simontacchi stated that medicinal research and development is desperately searching for answers to the possible causes of Autism. Physicians who are making progress and finding clinical success pursued biological treatment model that included dietary changes, supplementation, removal of toxic substances and behavioral modalities such as moderation of foods or otherwise for an Autistic child to have in his/her diet. Physicians usually prescribe medication to alleviate the symptoms of Autism. The rise in cases of Autism was almost parallel to the huge growth in Mobile phone and Wi-Fi use since the late 1990s. (Kamath, 2007). The author of the study, Kamath, stated that the findings are linked to other studies, which show adverse cell membrane responses and descriptions of cell physiology in case of children suffering from Autism. It so happens that “the electromagnetic radiation apparently causes the metals to be trapped in cells, slowing down the clearance and accelerating the onset of symptoms.” (Carlo cited in Kamath, 2007). Etiology for the Autism has been unknown. The Healthcare Industry has not determined any specific diagnostic testing to detect the causes of Autism. Scientists are still trying to find out what actually causes Autism, how to detect and finally cure it. There has been an ever increasing concern of people on knowing the true causes of Autism. One question that often comes to our mind is whether Autism is related to genes in any way? An author stated that in some of the previous researches on exploring the causes of Autism, mirror neurons have also been found to exist in human brains causing Autism. These findings tie in with other studies which show adverse cell membrane responses and descriptions of cell physiology. (Kamath, 2007). Parents are told that children with Autism observe significant delays in their growth and development. (Simontacchi, 2008). Although Autism has an unknown etiology what causes the awkwardness of the condition is still being explored. An author discussed that there is no proper cure for Autism but with appropriate treatment and education, many children with the disorder can be made to learn and their development can be enhanced. The least that a parent can do to protect his/her Autistic child is to prevent the child’s exposure to and excessive usage of mobile phones. Exposure of women to radiation must also be avoided during pregnancy to prevent the possibility of occurrence of Autism in the child. Early positive interventions can more often than not, reduce the challenges associated with the disorder. Measures like referring to or visiting the Healthcare providers, getting the blood tested for possible abnormalities and to determine birth defects are always helpful. Last but not the least, proper intake of diet rich in nutrition, vitamin supplements and eating right as stated by the dieticians can also play a big role to alleviate Autism. References: Autism 00104787, Reed Business Information UK, Ltd, a Division of Reed Elsevier, Inc. Eggertson, L. (2010, March 09). Lancet Retracts 12 Year-Old Article Linking Autism to MMR vaccines. Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). doi: 10.1503/cmaj.109-3179. Kamath, J.P., (2007, November 27) Spread of Wi-Fi Linked to Rise in Child. Retrieved 8 Aug. 2010 from http://paleo.wordpress.com/2007/11/ Reynolds, T. and Dombeck, M. (2006). Autism and Related Pervasive Developmental Disorders. Retrieved 8 Aug. 2010 from http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=8763. Roth, M., (2010, March 29) Pittsburg Post-Gazette (PA) “The Thinkers: Duquesne professor working to help autistic people work.” Retrieved 8 Aug. 2010 from http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10088/1046417-114.stm#ixzz0w4RNwC5W Simontachhi, C. (2008, March) Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist Better Nutrition, Autism Update, Newsflash/Point of View. Swierzewski, S. III, M.D., (2007, December 01) Reviewed Article for Treatment for Autism (2000, March 01) Original Date of Publication, Healthcommunicaties.com, Inc. 1998, 2010. Retrieved 8 Aug. 2010 from http://www.neurologychannel.com/autism/treatment.shtml Read More