Autism is not a disability. It’s a different ability.
According to a report from Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network (ADDM), 1 in 44 (or 2.3%) of children in the US were identified with ASD. These stats were based on eight-year-olds living in 11 ADDM Network sites in the United States. Now, let's start from the basics.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused
by differences in the brain. People with ASD often have problems with
social communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviours or
interests. People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or
paying attention.
The disability can be found in an infant below 3
years old and could exist for a lifetime. When children with ASD become
adolescents, they may have difficulties forming friendships and relationships
with others. Some ASD patients may develop conversational skills when they grow
up, and others may not. Now comes the next question
Scientists believe that multiple
causes for autism could come together and change how people develop.
Studies suggest that
ASD could result from disruptions in normal brain growth very early in
development. These disruptions may result from defects in genes that
control brain development and regulate how brain cells communicate with each
other. Autism is more common in children born prematurely.
There is no single cause that leads to autism spectrum disorder. The may be a wide range of symptoms. Both genetics and environmental factors play a role in causing autism.
Now let us touch upon a crucial topic.
There is a wide range of autism
symptoms in people with ASD. Autism symptoms are varied. Some autism symptoms
seen in patients are:
People with autism spectrum disorder
may display unusual behaviour. For example, they may show repetitive or
restrictive behaviour:
Let us discuss in more detail about autism.
There are three types of autism
spectrum disorder. Autism speaks through various disorders that are related to
it.
This is also called
"classic" autism. People with autistic disorder have symptoms like
language delays, social and communication challenges, and unusual behaviours
and interests. People with autistic disorder also have intellectual
disabilities.
People with Asperger syndrome
generally have milder symptoms of autistic disorder. For example, they may show
unusual behaviour and interests but don't have a problem with language and
intellectual ability.
This is also called "atypical autism"
or PDD – NOS. People who meet the criteria for autistic disorder and Asperger
syndrome may also be diagnosed with atypical autism. These people might have
milder symptoms when compared to people with autistic disorder. People with
atypical autism may have only social and communication challenges.
Now, this leads to our next question.
Yes, heredity does play a role in
autism spectrum disorder. If you have one child that has autism, likely, your second
child will also have autism. Your other family members are also most likely to
have a child who would have ASD.
Hair mineral analysis can
detect signs of autism at an early stage. Autism spectrum disorder tends to run
in the family. Although, the inheritance pattern is not known. People with gene
changes associated with the condition have an increased risk of developing the
condition. When ASD occurs in a pattern related to another syndrome, it can be
passed on according to the inheritance pattern of that syndrome.
Now comes the most important question.
New research
indicates that nearly 1% of the world’s population, or about 75 million people
have autism spectrum disorder. So, let's address the question, can we cure
autism?
There is no cure as of such for
autism. The answer lies in creating a support system and helping the person
with autistic disorder build communication and social skills.
Hair mineral analysis could help
discover the underlying problem of what causes autism. Then, the problem could
be treated with different therapies.
Now let us see how hair mineral analysis helps in our fight against autism.