Research ~ Power Point

Autism in children:

What are the causes?

Trying to put all the pieces together…

What is autism?

Children who have been diagnosed with autism have mild to significant delays in receptive and expressive language, motor, and social skills.

“Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that is marked by the presence of impaired social interaction and communication and a restricted repertoire of activities and interests” (CARD, 2008).

Heather

*Give explanations of what receptive and expressive language delays are. Children who have been diagnosed with autism generally have a delay in receptive language where they can not understand what exactly is being asked of them. With a child in my class, we have to use 1-3 word demands so he will understand.."sit here". Expressively, children with autism, are also typically delayed. Oftentimes a child in class will want to express their disinterest or their desire of not wanitng to complete a task by screaming, falling on the ground and have a full tantrum. What are typically the motor and social skills that are lacking in children with autism? Some motor skills that can be delayed are being able to jump with two feet, walk up stairs with alternating feet, and fine motor skills such as writing and cutting with scissors. Some social skills that may be delayed is a lack of eye contact, a desire to play by themselves, and engaging in self-stimulating behavior such as arm flapping.

The MMR shot & autism There are people who strongly believe that autism is

caused by the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) shot because delays and regression are seen in children who are later diagnosed after receiving their 18 month old wellness shots

A study came out that stated the MMR shot causing autism, it became public and to this day even with scientific evidence disputing this study, parents and caretakers still believe the shot is the cause

Offit & Coffin (2003) debates this claim of the MMR shot causing autism by stating, “no studies have found that autism occurs in vaccinated children at a rate greater than that found in unvaccinated children”.

Heather

*Friend's opinion. My friend believes that there is more than one cause of autism, but is still determined in believing that the MMR shot is what set the autism off. Often, there are earlier warning signs that parents do not or choose not to see, it is only when it has progressed and there is some sort of regression, which is typically around 18 months old. THis is also the time that the MMR shot is given for the well baby 18 MO checkups.

Genetics & autism With the scientific proof that autism is not solely

caused by toxins, research money is now being spent on DNA and genetic testing to find a link there.

“With sophisticated statistical techniques and numerous twin studies, behavioral geneticists now believe that as much as 90 percent of the behavioral phenotype of autism is related to inherited genes” (Dougherty, 2000).

There are many families that have multiple children with an autism diagnosis, some families have twins or triplets, all with a diagnosis, just at varying degrees. Oppositely, there are families with multiple children and only one child has a diagnosis.

Heather

I provided services to a set of triplets that all had a diagnosis on the spectrum. The youngest and smallest of the three had the most delays and was later diagnosed with seizures as well. The oldest triplet had the least amount of delays and was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. The middle triplet was a typical child diagnosed with autism, exhibiting most autistic tendencies, but was able to communicate unlike her younger sister.

The media & autism I obviously am not claiming that the media can

cause autism, but am stating that the media can feed into misleading information that can create hysteria or a horrible stigma.

“Suggested strategies include providing information that is at once informative and interesting to the media as well as explaining methods used by scientists and clinicians to distinguish causal from coincidental relationships” (Offit & Coffin, 2003).

With all of the media attention to autism via celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and Holly Robinson, it has definitely brought the general public’s attention and awareness. However, with all of this attention, it also has brought a stigma

Heather

Jenny McCarthy is a poor example of how autism can be "fixed". She claims that he son is "cured" of autism. She has made millions of dollars from parents around the world that believe that they can "fix" and "cure" their child just like she did. I have seen the DVDs that she sells, I have seen her child. As a trained professional in this field, I can also see that her son has not been "cured", it is obvious. The hard thing about parents in this situation is that they want anything that will help their child, but what they don't see in Jenny McCarthy's speeches and DVDs, is that all children are different. All children diagnosed with autism are different.

Treatment & autism There is a wide variety of services and therapies offered to

children who have been diagnosed with autism. Depending on the state that you live in will determine the cost and abundance of these services. In California, for example, the Regional Center and school districts provide services free of charge.

Great programs offer Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) including Discrete Trial Training (DTT). “Early and intensive behaviorally based treatment, in particular the use of applied behavior analysis, is effective in systematically teaching skills and reducing problematic behaviors. Despite evidence of efficacy, however, the limited availability of quality behavioral services for children with autism is a significant barrier to effective treatment” (Jensen, 2002).

Heather

The earlier intervention, the better outcome in the end. All children who have been diagnosed with autism are different, and the way they react and what they get out of treatment will be different. However, ABA is the leading treatment plan and has been studied to prove that it works in the majority of cases.

Conclusion

If Autism is predetermined by genes, what makes one child exhibit the signs and receive the full diagnosis, while another child with the same predetermined genes does not exhibit any characteristics and leads a typical life? This is an important question because it would imply that Autism is caused by more than just one specific factor. The research on this question would also help families that have multiple children that are diagnosed, and one isn’t, or families that have multiple children with only one child diagnosed with Autism.

Heather

Research on the possible different causes of autism are extremely important as it will help to create preventative measures as well as the most effective treatment plans.

References CARD. (2008). What is autism? Retrieved from:

http://www.centerforautism.com/whatisautism/. Dougherty, M. (2000). The genetics of autism. Retrieved from:

http://www.actionbioscience.org/genomic/dougherty.html. Jensen, V. & Sinclair, L. (2002). Treatment of autism in young

children: Behavioral intervention and applied behavioranalysis. Infants & young Children. 14(4), 42-52. Retrieved from: http://journals.lww.com/iycjournal/Abstract/2002 /04000/Treatment_of_Autism_in_Young_Children__Behavioral.6.aspx.

Offit, P. & Coffin, S. (2003). Communicating science to the public: MMR vaccine and autism. Vaccine 22. (1-6). Retrieved from: http://www.comminit.com/files/communicatingsciencetothepublic.pdf.

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