What Is Autism? The Asperger Syndrome

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A lot has recently been said about autism. What is autism exactly and how does

it manifest itself?

Autism is a medical condition that stems from a disorder in the process of brain

development. This causes abnormal, repetitive or restrictive behavior, often

affecting social development of the individual, such as communication and

interaction of the sufferer with the society at large.

The word 'autism' has been coined by Hans Asperger, when he was investigating

the symptoms and causes of the Asperger Syndrome.

Causes of Autism

There is no one reason for autism, but most researchers believe that it might be

inherited. It is unclear, though, as to which set of genes might exactly be

responsible for triggering autism.

In rare cases, experts aver, autism could occur as the result of birth defects.

A particular school of thought is of the view that some vaccines could induce

autism, but this is a highly controversial subject, which has not been able to

produce substantial evidence to back the claim.

Beginnings of Autism

The early symptoms of autism can set in an infant as young as six months. All

the behavior patterns of autism set in by the time the child is three years old.

These early signs will be very different and can be easily distinguished from

those of milder autistic varieties such as the Asperger syndrome.

If caught early enough, the symptoms of autism might come under control with

treatment and therapy. But there is no cure yet for this condition. Those

afflicted by severe autism might find it impossible to live independently,

though there are those who are fighting and winning against milder forms of the

disorder. There are yet many other sufferers who consider autism as merely a

condition and not an actual disorder to be treated.

Symptoms of autism

Autism is a disorder that keeps continuing without respite or remission. This

condition is regarded as one of the five major Pervasive Development Disorders

(or PDD), which severely inhibit the development of the human brain, restricting

the sufferer's social activities, interaction and communication.

One of other four PDD is the Asperger Syndrome, which, though similar to autism,

is a much milder version. This condition does not result in tremendously delayed

language development in the child and is also much more responsive to treatment.

Autism spectrum

The range of autistic behavior varies widely, from merely exhibiting odd social

or repetitive behavior, to having very few interests, remaining abnormally

silent, gazing blankly or even showing symptoms of severe mental impairment or

being actually mentally challenged.

This condition has such a wide spectrum that it has been classified into three

categories, namely, low-, medium- and high-functioning autism - LFA, MFA, HFA

respectively.

Surprisingly, some autistic patients exhibit above-average sharp skills, such as

memorization and other skills.

Incidence of autism

The recent statistics of autism reveals the prevalence of one or two cases per

thousand people, which seems to indicate a rise in the incidence of the

condition. Of course, this cannot be used as a definite yardstick to measure

what is the autism incidence range, as the chances are that diagnosis and

treatment of the disease has now improved with the advancement in Medicine.

Autism Causes, Symptoms and Treatments: http://autismnva.cjb.net/