{"id":742,"date":"2019-05-28T20:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-05-29T01:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/?p=742"},"modified":"2019-05-28T20:00:07","modified_gmt":"2019-05-29T01:00:07","slug":"thoughts-about-autism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/28\/thoughts-about-autism\/","title":{"rendered":"Thoughts about Autism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Autism or as it has been\ndefined as of 2013 in the DSM-5, Autism Spectrum Disorder is persistent\ndeficits in social communication or interactions across multiple contexts,\neither currently or by history; restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior,\ninterests, or activities, either currently or by history.&nbsp;(American\n Psychiatric Association, May 18, 2013). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Children have different\nmilestones that are reached at similar ages, they are narrowed down to the\nfollowing categories of socializing, language and communication, problem\nsolving and physical. When one of this milestones is not reached, it is\ndescribed as a possible neurodevelopment disorder. Neurodevelopmental disorders\nare a group of disorders in which the development of the central nervous system\nis disturbed. This can include developmental brain dysfunction, which can\nmanifest as neuropsychiatric problems or impaired motor function, learning,\nlanguage or non-verbal communication.&nbsp;(NatureResearch, 2019) When socializing\nand\/or language and communication milestones are not reached, this results in\nisolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Autism which comes from\nauto and self, people who are autistic are generally removed from social\ninteractions and communication.&nbsp;(Knowledge Diffusion Inc, 2018) Since the\nunderstanding of social and language skills are a requirement to be able to\ninteract and survive in a human world, people under the ASD endure vast\ndifficulties understanding and integrating into society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DEFINITION OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Autism Spectrum Disorder encompasses a spectrum of\ncharacteristics and the diagnosis depends on the severity of each one. This\nfall under two main categories: Social Communication and Interactions which\ndeals with social reciprocity, attention, nonverbal communication, and social\nrelationships. Restrictive or repetitive behavior which deals with behavioral,\ninterest, and activities. By categorizing main categories and later adding\nsubsections to the main categories, reaching a diagnosis that helps identify\nwhere in the spectrum the person falls under has been made simpler for mental\nhealth professionals. As Autism falls within a spectrum, the level of\nself-isolation within each category and sub category will vary and therefore\nthe severity of the disorder will vary from diagnosed person to person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Social Communication and Interactions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Social\nreciprocity, involves how the person can respond and reciprocate social queues.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Join\nattention, Wanting to share interest, a person with ASD who has not undergone\ntherapy rarely shares interests of things. This is mostly observed with\nchildren playing with toys, a non ASD child will try to get others to join\ntheir game, ASD children will keep to themselves.<\/li><li>Non\nverbal communications, an ASD person will not be able to understand facial\nexpressions, for example a child misbehaved and the mother has a frown, the\nchild will not understand why the mother has an angry face.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Social\nrelationships when developing and maintaining friends. In adults, they might be\nfond of a person and a friendship may evolved but eventually the non ASD person\nmight become overwhelmed by not understanding how to deal with the ASD friend.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Restrictive and repetitive behavior examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Lining\nof toys, flapping of hands, imitation of sounds or movements.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Fixed\non certain routines, for example always wanting to seat in the same place in\nthe diner table and will refuse to eat if the seating order has changed.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Restrictive\nthinking or specific knowledge, for example being very knowledgeable about one\ntopic but finding it difficult to talk about other things or subjects.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Speech development does suffer regardless of which\ncategory surfaces the most for the person, since in the eyes of children and\nnon-autism savvy adults, an ASD sufferer can be mistaken for a rude, misbehaved\nor antisocial person. Hence causing people to keep their distance from the ASD\nsufferer and to a certain extent to self-imposed isolation to avoid being\nemotionally hurt by not being understood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>DIAGNOSING AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In modern times Autism\nis generally diagnosed by observing milestones and on the other hand interactions\nand behavior, work to treat a possible ASD patient usually begins from as young\nas 18 months old, but an actual diagnosis may take several years to be reached,\ndue to many neurological disorders that can cause developmental milestones not\nto be reached. The clinician will need to work on therapy sessions and reports\nfrom the people who spend the most time with the patient. This people are\nusually the patient\u2019s parents and teachers, therefore the clinician may ask for\ndetailed reports from them in order to establish the proper line of treatment\nand eventually be able to reach a diagnosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As previously mentioned\nAutism is a spectrum and some symptoms may be more prevalent than other, so the\ndiagnosis is done by level of severity and which symptoms are most prevalent in\na patient. They range from level 1 to level 3. For example a level one ASD\nperson, requires minimal assistance for daily living, the main symptoms may\nfall under social communication where they can express themselves properly but\nhave trouble keeping a fluid conversation or might fall under the repetitive\nrestrictive where they might have slight difficulties changing activities. Then\nup to a level 3 ASD person, which requires a substantial amount of assistance\nfor their daily living, where in the social interactions the person can only\nexpress a few words and in the restrictive behavior they are extremely\nresistive to change in activities to the point that it affects their daily\nlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Diagnosis is reached by\na group Mental health professional working in unison together with parents,\nlegal guardians and teachers of the potential ASD patient, as for the\ncategories and sub categories, there are several point systems that vary depending\non the methodology used to reach a diagnosis. Since autism is a spectrum, each\ncase is different and treatment has to be tailored on a per case basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CAUSES OF AUTISM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There has been significant advance in the diagnosis and\ntreatment of autism, yet the cause of Autism has not been determined. A general\nconsensus has been formed that there may be a genetic as well as environmental\nfactors that are the leading cause to autism. One in every Eighty Eight\nchildren are diagnosed with autism, so in the medical community they are\nwondering if there is an autism epidemic or as the disorder has been better\ndefined as time has passed a clear guideline for diagnosis has been\nestablished. (Chung, 2014)\nMales are affected four to one in relation to females. (Chung, 2014)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To determine that there is party a genetic factor,\ninvestigators look at the concordance rate, in other words if one sibling has Autism\nwhat is the chance that the other sibling will develop autism. (Chung, 2014) By observing three\ntypes of siblings. Identical twins meaning that they share %100 of the DNA and\nthe same gestation environment; fraternal twins sharing %50 of their dna and\nthe same gestation environment; non-twin siblings that share %50 of their dna\nbut not the same gestation environment. %70 of identical twins, %31 of\nfraternal twins and %20 of non-twin siblings will both develop autism. Meaning\nthere must be a genetic factor, but there is also an environmental factor\nbecause if it was purely genetic then identical twins should both develop\nautism %100 of the time. There is some consensus that there might be an\nenvironmental factor, which may cause a gene or genetic mutation, that may lead\nto autism in a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>AUTISM AND SCHOOL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Children and adults who fall under the Autism Spectrum\ndisorder are fit and capable of learning and adapting with the proper treatment\nand good line of communication between school, parents and mental health\nprofessional. Fortunately there has been great strides in understanding Autism\nand how people who have ASD can function and be part of a classroom\nenvironment. Though there are many challenges that both parents and teachers\nhave to tackle to be able to provide a safe environment for the ASD person and\nclassmates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; First and foremost, it is the parents or legal guardians\nresponsibility to inform the school and teachers that there will be a person\nwith ASD attending class. With help from a report written by the mental health\nprofessional and experience that the parents have had with handling the person,\nan action plan should be developed in order to keep the ASD person and school\nattendees in a safe environment. Education and information is key to be able to\nmanage an ASD person as with any other person with a neurological development\ndisability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The teacher will face many challenges, and getting the\nASD person to follow task and schoolwork. Since ASD person tend to understand\neverything in a literal sense there might be times when the educator or\nclassmates might consider the ASD person is goofing around or misbehaving.\nTherefore, it is best for the educator to call the ASD person by name and give\na clear message about what is going on or what is expected of the person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As the ASD person has difficulty changing task, then at\ntimes, the ASD person may fall behind with their task or outright refuse to do\ntheir task. The educator can try to establish a pattern and provide visual and\naudio queues that allow the ASD person to identify a pattern and complete their\nschool work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Furthermore, the educator together with the parents or\nlegal guardians of the ASD person, must work on teaching how to identify or\nlearn how to identify non-verbal communication, as well as try to get the\nperson to challenge themselves to try to engage in verbal social communication.\nThis could be tried with visual aids that together with the Educator and\nparents both saying in direct language feelings and what was the cause of the\nfeeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Finally, the main challenge of both the parents and\neducators are moments when the usual environment might have some slight changes\nthat will affect the ASD person. Taking part in a group project, participating in\na school play, decorations due to season or festivities. Sounds, lights and\nchanges in color can all trigger bad reactions in ASD people, the main\nchallenge is preparing with due time the ASD person for the upcoming change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>CONCLUSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; To sumarize Autism Spectrum Disorder\nis a neurodevelopment disorder that has not had a specific cause to why the\ndisorder is develop. There are genetic and enviromental factors that may be the\ncause as to why ASD exists. There have been significant strides done in the mental\nhealth areas for developing proper diagnosis tecnics. Since ASD is a spectrum\neach case is unique and each treatment has to be develop on a case by case\nbasis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; As ASD affects the development of\nsocializing, and restricts behavior, without early intervention and treatment\nit will have a long lasting and profound negative effect on the development of\nproper language comprehencion and speech. Which makes it difficult for the ASD\nperson to function in society without assistance, and the level of assistance\nrequired depends on the level of ASD that the person has and which spectrum of\nASD the person falls under. Therefore, early diagnosis and appropriate\ntreatment must be provided to allow for the ASD person to be able to develop\nproper speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Finally, an ASD person be part of\nschool and eventually become a profesional. The key is creating a proper\neducation plan and establishing a good line of communication between parents or\nlegal guardian, educators and treating mental health profesionals. The school\nenviroment in all its levels allows the ASD person to cope and develop\nnecessary skills to become a functioning adult with the goal to depend on as\nlittle assistance as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>BIBLIOGRAPHY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">American Psychiatric\nAssociation. (May 18, 2013). <em>Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental\nDisorders, Fifth Edition.<\/em> Arlington: American Psychiatric Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ASD info Wales. (3 de February de 2017).\nAutism-\nAdvice for teachers. Cardiff, WALES, UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chung, W. (28 de April de 2014). Autism: What we know (and what we don&#8217;t\nknow).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Knowledge Diffusion Inc. (9 de January de 2018). Autism Spectrum Disorder\n| Clinical Presentation. Baltimore, MD, United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NatureResearch. (2019). <em>Neurodevelopmental disorders.<\/em> New York:\nSpringer Nature Publishing AG.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>INTRODUCTION Autism or as it has been defined as of 2013 in the DSM-5, Autism Spectrum Disorder is persistent deficits in social communication or interactions across multiple contexts, either currently or by history; restrictive, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, either currently or by history.&nbsp;(American Psychiatric Association, May 18, 2013). Children have different milestones [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[25,196],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pensamientos","tag-autism","tag-neurodevelopmental"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/742\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pensandopanama.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}