#Autism 101: What We Know Today

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Autism 101: What We Know Today

Despite growing awareness and advances in treatment, this fast-growing developmental disorder has enormous personal, family, and economic impact - and no known cure.

1 in 50 children have an autism spectrum disorder
At 10-17% annual growth in cases, it’s the fastest-growing developmental disability
Effects 1 to 1.5 million Americans
Symptoms appear by age 3
5x more prevalent in males
$60 billion in annual costs, $3.2 million over an individual's lifespan
No known cure, but early treatment can help
Surge in cases may be due to better diagnosis, wider awareness, and broader definitions

Autism Spectrum

Autistic disorder - impairments of social interaction, communication and play, and restricted or repetitive interests and activities
Asperger’s disorder - social interaction impairments and repetitive behavior, but usually without significant language delay
Atypical autism - core autistic behaviors are present, but the criteria for autistic disorder are not fully met

Signs of Autism

Impaired social interaction and communication
Restricted and repetitive behavior, such as stacking or lining up objects
Symptoms of autistic disorder children age 1-3
no babbling or pointing by age 1
no single words by 16 months or two-word phrases by age 2
no response to name
loss of language or social skills
poor eye contact
excessive lining up of toys or objects
no smiling or social responsiveness

Autism and Adulthood

Increasingly, parents are seeking help as their child transitions to late teenage and adult years
Challenges include education, living arrangements, supervised day care, and more
Young adults may qualify academically for college, but can’t cope with other aspects of college life
“Adults face discrimination that comes from a lack of understanding about autism. The tolerance that is extended to children with autism is often lacking.” - Pamela Dixon Thomas, PhD, LP, psychologist with the University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center (UMACC)

Science of Autism

Neurodevelopmental disorder
Strong basis in genetic mutation
Evidence for environmental causes such as vaccines, foods, and heavy metals is anecdotal, but extensive studies are underway

Autism and the Family

Marital stress: 80% divorce rate in families with children who have autism
Lack of rest due to difficulty in finding child care
Challenges involving diagnosis, services, adolescence, and post high school
Siblings may develop a greater sense of responsibility, or may feel resentment at the extra attention the child with autism receives “Having a child with Autism can mess with your head: You feel like you can move mountains for them yet you’re powerless at the same time.” - Stuart Duncan Treatment
Educational/behavioral interventions targeting social and language skills and family counseling for parents and siblings of children with autism
Medications including those to treat anxiety, depression, or obsessive-compulsive behavior; in severe cases, antipsychotic medications

Controversial treatments

Chelation - attempts to eliminate metals such as mercury from the body (a potentially hazardous medical procedure)
DAN! (Defeat Autism Now) - includes nutritional supplements, gluten-free diet, treatment for allergies and intestinal bacterial/yeast overgrowth “When living with a neurological condition (or with a loved one who has one), it can be very easy to focus on the challenges and limitations. But in my life, I have found that focusing on abilities, finding new ways to adapt, have been crucial to my successes in life. Seeking those solutions can even be seen as a form of creativity.” - Lynne Soraya (nom de plume for a writer with Asperger’s Syndrome)

Significant Findings from Recent Studies

High-quality early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can do more than improve behaviors, it can improve brain function.
Being nonverbal at age 4 does not mean children with autism will never speak. According to research, most will, in fact, learn to use words, with half learning to speak fluently.
Though autism tends to be life long, some children with ASD make so much progress that they no longer meet the diagnostic criteria for autism. High quality early-intervention may be key.

Timeline

1943 - Dr. Leo Kanner publishes a paper about a condition he calls “early infantile autism”
1966 - A British Study estimates the rate of autism in at .04%
1967 - Psychologist Bruno Bettelheim promotes a theory that “refrigerator mothers” cause autism
1977 - Studies of twins reveal autism as a largely genetic disorder
1980 - “Infantile autism” listed as a distinct disorder in the DSM
1987 - Psychologist Ivar Lovaas publishes a study showing positive effects of intensive therapy
1988 - “Rain Main,” starring Dustin Hoffman as an autistic savant
1991 - At federal prompting, schools begin identifying and serving autistic students
1994 – Asperger’s disorder is recognized, expanding the autism spectrum to include milder cases
1997 - National Institutes of Health Autism Coordinating Committee launches
1998 - A Lancet study suggests that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism (later debunked)
1999 - California reports 12,000 autism cases, an increase of more than 200% in a decade
2005 - Autism Speaks founded - now the world’s largest autism advocacy group
2007 - Autism Centers for Excellence launches, coordinated by the NIH/ACC
2009 - The CDC estimates that 1 in 110 children have autism spectrum disorders, up from 1 in 150 in 2007

Sources

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

#Autism 101: What We Know Today

Autism 101: What We Know Today

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