Autistic Disorder

Autistic Disorder By: Elizabeth Hernandez

Autistic disorder or also known as autism This disorder is described to be “mindblindedness.” Autistic disorder is a neurological and developmental disorder that usually appears during the first three years of life Those with this disorder have an impairment in their ability to communicate and relate emotionally to others

Associated Features • tend to seem to be living in their own world, show little interest, and lack of social awareness • have problems in communication, avoid eye contact, and show limited attachment to others • have the habit to rock and hand or finger flipping • don’t like noise • imitate others actions which works with mirror neurons • tend to preoccupy themselves with lights, moving objects, and parts of objects

Etiology it is not known but research suggests that autism is a genetic condition in which some genes are involved in the development of autism as an example: a twin study in which the concordance rate among monzygotic twins was 92% and pointed to patterns of inheritance (Bailey et.al., 1995) some other evidence from family and genetic studies says that abnormalities on chromosomes 7, 15, and 16 (Lauritsen and Ewald, 2001; Rutler, 2000) that may be part of in genetic transmission of autistic disorder

Continued • there had been a variety of abnormalities in the brain structure and chemicals in the brain • there has also been abnormalities found in blood flow patterns through frontal lobes of the brain, that suggested a maturational delay (Zilbovicius et. Al., 1995) • men with autism have greater brain volume and greater ventricular volume which has been shown in MRI scans (Hardan, Minshew, and Keshavan, 2000)

Prevalence • approximately 15 out of every 10,000 children born are diagnosed with autism • it is more common in boys than girls with four times as many boys affected than girls • also once believed to affect 1 in 2,500 children (Lillienfield and Arkowitz, 2011)

Treatment • there are behavioral and educational programs • behavioral therapy is used to teach social skills, motors skills, and cognitive (thinking) skills • it is useful in reducing or eliminating maladaptive behaviors • education programs focus on developing social skills, speech, language, self-care, and job skills • medication can help in treating some symptoms • specific treatment is based on an individual child’s treatments and determined by the child’s physician based on: • child’s age, health and medical history • the extent of the disorder • symptoms • tolerance for specific medications or therapies • Expectations for the course of the disorder

Prognosis • there is no cure for autism but there are ways in which a person can be treated for it • they have normal living expectations with the adequate treatment and early intervention but there are those who need lifelong treatment • for an example: Lovass reported a high rate of success was being achieved after of 40-hour-per-week treatment in a research project begun in 1970 • the result of a long study being done in UCLA showed that children starting at the ages 2 to 6 showed that those who had better skills in communication and play had better language and social skills in their early preteen years (Sigman et al., 1999).

References Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Autistic Disorder. 2011. http://www.chw.org/display/PPF/DocID/22122/router.asp Halgin, R.P & Whitbourne, S.k.(2005) Abnormal Psychology Clinical Perspective on Psychological Disorders, New York, NY: McGraw Hill

Discussion • What do you think makes an autistic child have an extraordinary skill but yet have a disorder?

Autistic Disorder