Autism – signs, symptoms, causes and other risk factors

The two general terms Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are terms for a group of complex disorders which are part of the brain development. They can vary in the degrees, repetitive behaviors, nonverbal and verbal communication and difficulties in social interaction. This is a kind of disability which is lasting through all their life. This is a problem which means how people interact with others and how they perceive the world. Autistic people feel, hear and see in different way compared to other people. When someone is autistic, then this means they will be autistic all their life. This is not a disease or illness and what is important about this problem is that it cannot be cured. Many people who have this problem are having decreased self – esteem and they think this is their identity. This is a kind of spectrum condition which means that it can affect people on many different ways. [1] It is estimated that more boys are affected with this condition compared with girls. [2] In the United Kingdom the number of autistic people is estimated about one in every one hundred people. [3]

How common is autism?

This is a very common situation. In fact it is much more common than we think. In the United Kingdom there are around 700,000 people who live with this condition which means that there are one in one hundred people affected with this condition. People from all social, cultural and religious backgrounds and from all nationalities can be affected with this disease. There are studies in which is shown that men can have bigger chances to get autism compared with women. [2]

Signs and symptoms of Autism

Here are the signs and symptoms of autism:

1. Spoken language:

• These children are preferring to communicate using single words, despite being able to speak in sentences
• Speech that sounds very flat or monotonous
• Frequent repetition of set words and phrases
• Delayed speech development (for example, they are speaking less than 50 different words of their own language by the age of two), or not speaking at all

2. Responding to others:

• These children are also reacting unusually negatively when someone is asking them to do something
• These children are also rejecting cuddles initiated by a parent or carer (although they may initiate cuddles themselves)
• When they suffer from this problem, then they are not responding to their name being called, despite having normal hearing

3. Interacting with others [4]:

• Avoiding eye contact
• Rarely using gestures or facial expressions when communicating
• Also children who suffer from autism are preferring to play alone, rather than asking others to play with them
• Not enjoying situations that most children of their age want to do, such as having fun on the birthday parties
• Little interest to be in interaction with other people, including children of a similar age
• Not being aware that people have its own private space, or they are too much intolerant of people entering their own personal space

4. Behavior:

• Unusual sensory interests (for example, children who suffer from autism sniff toys, objects of people inappropriately)
• Having a strong like or dislike of certain foods based on the texture or color of the food as much as the taste
• Preferring to have a familiar routine and getting very upset of there are changes to this routine
• They are playing with their toys in a repetitive and unimaginative way, such as lining blocks up in order of size or color, rather than using them to build something
• These children are making repetitive movements, such as rocking forth and back, flapping their hands, rocking back and forth or flicking their fingers

Causes for autism: The exact cause for autism is still not known but scientists think that environmental (exposed to some alcohol, womb or certain medication) or unknown factors or genetic predisposition (genes which child inherits from its parents) can be a cause for autism. [5]

Remedies for autism: In the very early brain development are appearing the roots of autism. If you have children, the ages between two and three are the best years in which you can conclude if they show you some signs and symptoms of autism. The number of people who are getting autism is increasing every year. 1 in 189 girls and 1 in 42 boys are diagnosed with this kind of problem in the United States of America. [6] There are many studies in which scientists are trying to discover the real cause for this condition. There is not cure for this disease but there are some natural remedies which can help to autistic people to pass over some social conditions. Talk with your doctor about the various natural remedies for autism and they will help you.

References:

[1] van der Cruijsen R, Boyer BE. Explicit and implicit self-esteem in youth with autism spectrum disorders. Autism. 2021;25(2):349-60.

[2] Werling DM, Geschwind DH. Sex differences in autism spectrum disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2013;26(2):146–53.
doi:10.1097/WCO.0b013e32835ee548

[3] Taylor B, Jick H, MacLaughlin D. Prevalence and incidence rates of autism in the UK: time trend from 2004–2010 in children aged 8 years. BMJ Open. 2013;3:e003219. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2013-003219

[4] Skoufou A. Social interaction of preschool children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) – Characteristics and educational approaches. SSRG International Journal of Economics and Management Studies (SSRG-IJEMS). 2019;6(6):28-36.

[5] Chaste P, Leboyer M. Autism risk factors: genes, environment, and gene-environment interactions. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 2012;14(3):281–92.

[6] Wright J. The real reasons autism rates are up in the U.S. Scientific American. 2017. Retrieved from www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-real-reasons-autism-rates-are-up-in-the-u-s/