autism research paper

English-123z

Tami Perez

December 9,2018

Autism

According to Thurm and Swedo, autism is a behaviorally defined debilitating developmental disorders found within the spectrum disorder (ASD) (219). Normally, autism manifests itself through impaired social communication. Additionally, autism can result in unwanted interests and recurring behaviors which can culminate in lifelong health conditions and disabilities (Thurm and Swedo 219). There are many causes of autism, effects and preventive and treatment strategies.

Autism manifests itself in many ways and hence exhibits a very high prevalence rate. This debilitating condition affects men more than women. additionally, people with autism often report high rates of comorbidity . For instance, over 70 percent of people with autism report concurrent conditions. According to a research done by Thurm and Swedo (219), for every 88 children in the United States of America, one of them is affected by autism. Over time, the prevalence rates of autism have risen significantly over the past twenty years. However, various speculations have broadened the scope of autism misrepresenting the prevalence rates. Additionally, improved autism awareness and better diagnostic approached have increase the number of reported cases of autism (Elsabbagh et al. 160). The CDC estimates that there are over two million people in the U.S. affected by autism.

Autism is associated with adverse social, economic and psychological effects. People affected by autism are weighed down by numerous behavioral and cognitive profiles. People with autism have a higher mortality rate compared when compared with their peers without the condition. A research done by Bilder et al. reported that the mortality risk of autistic individuals is 2.8 times that of unaffected individuals of the gender and age (1196). The higher mortality rate is attributed to related and comorbidity. Additionally, people with autism have impaired social cognition and blighted social relations and perception. The social cognition and social perceptions can be explained by attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder as emerging evidence suggests (Bora and Pantelis 2). Autistic people are also associated various cognition issues as per the theory of mind as well as impairment in emotion recognition and control.

Moreover, autism has detrimental financial effects on the individual and their families. Once a child is diagnosed with autism, they are booked for speech and occupational therapy sessions which are not only costly but also time consuming (Horlin et al. e106552). To make the matter worse, the therapeutic costs of autism increase with severity. When autism is diagnosed, at least one of their parents are forced to resign to become the primary caregivers to the autistic child (Shiozawa 495). This puts more pressure on the already constrained family finances reducing the quality of life for whole family.

It is psychologically draining to bring up an autistic child. Mothers of children with autism normally have higher stress related to parenting. According to Fido and Fido, Al Saad (5), the higher parenting stress can cause trauma among the parents. It is thus imperative to identify and offer effective and appropriate psychiatric support services to parents whose children are autistic. The psychological stress of parenting a child with autism can irreparably disrupt the happiness and stability of the family as well as the effectiveness of parenting and child growth and development.

People with autism can be assisted through individualized and if possible multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach. The principal objective of health care intervention in autistic individuals is to maximize quality of life by reducing comorbidity and maximize functional independence of the affected person (Schreibman et al. 2411). Some approaches intent to support child development and learning. Various therapeutic approaches are used to social cognition, social skills and relations and communication (Schreibman et al. 2411). Children and their families should be supported to keep family happy and at minimal levels of stress. The most effective interventions for autism have been behavioral therapy, chemotherapy and educational strategies.

In conclusion, autism has detrimental to both quality and expectation of life. Individuals with autism report higher levels of psychological stress and higher levels of comorbidity. As a result, effective interventions would be the use multidisciplinary and individualized approach that blends behavioral therapy and drugs to manage consequential conditions and morbidities. No approach is effective alone and hence the different approaches are complementary.

Works Cited

Bilder, Deborah, et al. "Excess mortality and causes of death in autism spectrum disorders: a follow up of the 1980s Utah/UCLA autism epidemiologic study." Journal of autism and developmental disorders 43.5 (2013): 1196-1204.

Bora, E., and C. Pantelis. "Meta-analysis of social cognition in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): comparison with healthy controls and autistic spectrum disorder." Psychol Med 41 (2015): 1-18.

Elsabbagh, Mayada, et al. "Global prevalence of autism and other pervasive developmental disorders." Autism research5.3 (2012): 160-179.

Fido, Abdullahi, and Samira Al Saad. "Psychological effects of parenting children with autism prospective study in Kuwait." Open journal of psychiatry 3.02 (2013): 5.

Horlin, Chiara, et al. "The cost of autism spectrum disorders." PloS one 9.9 (2014): e106552.

Schreibman, Laura, et al. "Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions: Empirically validated treatments for autism spectrum disorder." Journal of autism and developmental disorders 45.8 (2015): 2411-2428.

Shiozawa, Brian J. "It’s about time for autism reform legislation in Utah." Journal of autism and developmental disorders 45.5 (2015): 1495-1496.

Thurm, Audrey, and Susan E. Swedo. "The importance of autism research." Dialogues in clinical neuroscience 14.3 (2012): 219.