Autism Research

Name

Course

Professor

Date

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder refers a condition related to the development of the brain that affects how a person perceives and interacts with other people. The condition makes it hard for a person to build social relationships with other people and also affects how a person communicates. According to World Health Organization (WHO), approximately one in 100 children globally has autism. The condition starts in early children and profoundly impacts development of a child. It affects their social life, which consequently affects academic performance and later their career. A child with autism shows symptoms in their first year. However, the disorder does not have any cure, but early treatment can reduce the intensity of the condition and make a significant difference in many children (Mayo Clinic). There are a couple of factors that can make a child have autism, including genetic and environmental factors. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the causes, impacts of on ASD on a child and the potential interventions that can help children with autism achieve optimal functioning.

There is no single cause for ASD, but a combination of factors is involved including biological, environmental and genetic factors. despite the fact that little is known about the specific causes for ASD, research shows that a child with a sibling that has ASD is at an elevated risk for developing the condition. Also, specific genetic or chromosomal conditions including fragile X syndrome are linked to increased risk for developing ASD. Complications at birth as well as being born to old parents has also been associated to high risk for developing ASD. Children with ASD start to show signs and symptoms in early infancy including reduced eye contact, lack of response to their name and also may show indifference to their caregivers (Mayo Clinic). Some children may develop normally in the first few months or year of their life then all over a sudden become aggressive to lose communication skills they had learned. Children with ASD present unique pattern of behavior and severity levels (Pruett et al. 2016). Because of the unique combination of symptoms in each child, severity of the condition can be hard to determine. Severity is based on the impairment levels and how they impact the functioning of a child.

ASD has potential impacts on children. It significantly impacts one’s overall functioning and makes it hard for an individual to live a fulfilling life. It affects nearly all aspects of life ranging from work, school to building relationships with other people. Children with ASD have difficulty in learning and some have lower than normal intelligence, which significantly affects their academic performance. For children with normal to higher intelligence, they are able to learn quickly but have challenge in communicating and applying knowledge they have acquired in everyday life and in fitting in social situations. Because of poor communication skills, people with ASD find it hard to communicate with other people and thus are not able to establish strong relationships with other people (Coxon 2021). This makes a person with ASD to isolate himself or herself from other people. A child with ASD has poor social interaction skills. They are poor at initiating and keeping a conversation going. According to research, approximately 40 percent of children with ASD do not speak at all and thus people with the condition have a challenge in starting and maintaining relationship because they cannot communicate well or express their feelings towards other people (Coxon 2021). Furthermore, people with ASD are more likely to misunderstand other people’s perspective because they struggle with understanding and reading the behavior of other people.

Generally, children with ASD develop at a slower rate compared to other children of their age, and often do not learn common skills the same way other children learn. Since ASD affects mental and physical development of a child, it can contribute to a wider consequence on the learning of a child both at home and school.

There is no cure for ASD, however, early interventions can help children with the condition to optimize their development, well-being, health and quality of life. Access to early evidence-based interventions can help improve the ability of children with ASD to improve on their communication and ability to interact with other people effectively (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). It is imperative for parents and caregivers to have children diagnosed for ASD once they realize signs and symptoms that indicate that a child may have ASD. This would help the children to receive help and care that helps them to improve on their development like normal children. Treatment and intervention for ASD seeks to reduce symptoms that interfere with daily functioning and quality of life. In addition, access to information related to ASD is important for parents and guardians to ensure they are able to notice if their children may be suffering from the condition and also understand how they can help a child with autism improve daily functioning as well as quality of life.

In conclusion, ASD is a mental health disorder that affects development of a child in a number of ways. It affects both mental and physical development of a child. Children with ASD develop differently from normal children and learn common skills differently from other children. However, despite the fact that there is cure for the condition, there are interventions that can help children achieve optimal quality of life by reducing symptoms that affect daily to daily functioning.

Cited works

Zeidan, Jinan, et al. "Global prevalence of autism: A systematic review update." Autism Research (2022).

Coxon, S. “The impact of autism in learning and development.” (2021)

WHO. “Autism.” https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/autism-spectrum-disorders

CDC. “What is autism spectrum disorder?” https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/facts.html

Mayo Clinic. “Autism spectrum disorder.” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases- conditions/autism-spectrum-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20352928

Pruett Jr, John R., and Daniel J. Povinelli. "Commentary–autism spectrum disorder: spectrum or cluster?" Autism Research 9.12 (2016): 1237.