Autism
- B Alviani, D Cajic, S Dedhia, E Jones, S Maree, T Yap Young
- Apr 9, 2024
- 4 min read
Notes. From: Burjeel [Photograph], by Burjeel, 2022
(digitalteam, 2022)
Hey there! We’re hearing a lot about autism these days, but it can still be hard to understand what it exactly is, even if you know someone that has it. In this post we will discuss what autism is, how it affects people’s live, what the symptoms are, risk factors, how it affects the brain and how it is treated.
What is Autism?
Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is a condition that an individual is born with. ASD is experienced in different ways for different people. And that it is called a spectrum disorder because the symptoms range from severe to mild (Alpert, 2020). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is not a disease, but a syndrome, and can affect how people interact with others, how they communicate and what interests/activities they partake in (Muhle et al., 2004).
How Does Autism Affect One’s Life?
People with autism often have a hard time relating to others or understanding their point of view. People with autism may prefer to be alone, going as far as to not like being touched or making direct eye contact. Sometimes communicating is difficult for people with ASD. They may not know what words, or tone of voice, to use, or may repeat the same phrase over and over. Others may not speak at all and are called non-verbal (Belger et al., 2011). Some people with ASD really like routine, so changes can be very challenging and may even trigger a meltdown. It’s like you woke up one day and the rules to your favourite video game changed!
Symptoms
To be diagnosed with ASD, a person must show all three of the following social symptoms:
Trouble with “give-and-take” aspects of social interactions, such as responding in a conversation, not giving someone else a turn to speak, or not acknowledging/sharing feelings with others.
Trouble with non-verbal communication, such as not making eye contact, not using facial expressions, or not using gestures.
Trouble with making/keeping friendships. Some may have no interest in friendships.
They must also have at least two of the following symptoms:
Repetitive movements, like lining up objects, flapping arms, or repeating phrases.
Needing to follow a specific daily routine and cannot cope when something changes.
Having an intense “special interest” that is uncommon for someone of their age.
Unusual reactions to sights, sounds, or touch sensations. For example, sounds may be perceived as louder, or they may not react to a painful injury (American Psychiatric Association, 2022)
Risk Factors
We don’t know for sure what causes autism spectrum disorder, but it seems to run in families and is passed on to someone through their parent’s genes. Older couples who have children are at a higher risk to have children with autism. Younger siblings of people diagnosed with ASD have a higher chance (15 to 20%) of also having it (Christensen & Zubler, 2020). Boys are almost four times as likely to be diagnosed with ASD (Hashem, 2020).
Neural Basis
Autism is a fancy term to describe how some people's brains are wired differently. It can affect how they interact with others and behave (Belger et al., 2011). While research is still ongoing, it is thought that people with autism inherit these genes from their parents (who may or may not have autism). In the first few years of life, the genes lead to an increase in the number of neurons, or brain cells, which affects how all the brain cells connect and work together (Hashem et al., 2020). This is why Autism is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Treatment Options
Although there is no cure to ASD, there are many treatments that are available to help comfort and manage symptoms. There is no medication available to treat ASD. Instead, play therapy, occupational therapy, behavioural, physical and speech therapy are recommended. These therapies help to improve social skills and communication. While it is better for someone with autism to start therapy in childhood, a teenager who is recently diagnosed can still see benefits from therapy so that they can learn helpful coping mechanisms before adulthood. (Alpert, 2020).
Notes. From Autism Assistant [Photograph], by Autism Assistant, 2020
(Autism Assistant, 2020)
From reading this blog, we hope that you have a better understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorder and its unique challenges. ASD can be fascinating and special in a cool way! As research about ASD grows daily, spreading more awareness will help people with ASD to feel more accepted.
Check This Out!
We hope you’ll keep learning more about ASD and share this blog with your friends. We also recommend checking out the following video about what it’s like to be a teen with ASD.
Did you know that April is World Autism Awareness month? Post a comment below about what your school, or community, is doing to support people with ASD. Feel free to link other cool social media resources below, too!
Life as an Autistic Teen:
Reference List
American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Neurodevelopmental disorders. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5(5). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787.x01_neurodevelopmental_disorders
Belger, A., Carpenter, K. L. H., Yucel, G., Cleary, K. M., & Donkers, F. (2011). The neural circuitry of autism. Neurotoxicity Research, 20(3), 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12640-010-9234-7
Christensen, D., & Zubler, J. (2020). CE: From the CDC: understanding autism spectrum disorder. AJN the American Journal of Nursing, 120(10), 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000718628.09065.1b
Gilbert, J., & Man, H. Y. (2017). Fundamental elements in autism: from neurogenesis and neurite growth to synaptic plasticity. Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 11, 359. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2017.00359
Hashem, S., Nisar, S., Bhat, A. A., Yadav, S. K., Azeem, M. W., Bagga, P., Fakhro, K., Reddy, R., Frenneaux, M. P., & Haris, M. (2020). Genetics of structural and functional brain changes in autism spectrum disorder. Translational Psychiatry, 10(1), 229–229. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-00921-3
Muhle, R., Trentacoste, S. V., & Rapin, I. (2004). The genetics of autism. Pediatrics (Evanston), 113(5), e472–e486. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.113.5.e472
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