SOC313: Social Implication of Medical Issues
November 19, 2012
Autism can affect each person differently; some may have a broad range of behavioral consequences, while others may have impairment in their verbal and nonverbal communications. In this paper I will be evaluating the lifestyle of an individual with autism, some of the common misconceptions are held by the general public, as well as what the vocational roles. Each individual with autism has different strengths and weaknesses. “Autistic disorder or autism is a disorder of the brain function that has a broad range of behavioral consequences, including impairment in reciprocal social interaction and impairment in verbal and nonverbal communication, play skills, and cognitive and adaptive function” (Falvo, D. pg. 202). Autism is usually first diagnosed in childhood and in most cases is a lifelong disorder. Males are three to four times more likely to be diagnosed then females. No two individual that have autism are going to appear or act the same way. Their symptoms can be mild to severe and can change over time. There are some key characteristics that an individual might display; communication problems, difficulty relating, and repetitive body movements or behaviors. Communication problems can range from the difficulty in using and understanding language to having limited speech. Most parents have noticed since birth that their child has been different from other children there same age. They might say that their child has not responded to social cues such as playing simple games as “peek-a-boo” and seldom smiling. An individual’s with autism lifestyle many times needs to have structure; they do not like change and insist on sameness. ” People with autism spectrum conditions show ‘repetitive behavior,’ a strong desire for routines, and a ‘need for sameness.’ To date, the only cognitive account to attempt to explain this aspect of the syndrome is the executive dysfunction theory
References: Falvo, D. R. (2009). Medical and psychosocial aspects of chronic illness and disability, 4th ed. Boston, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Autism. (2005). In Cambridge Encyclopedia of Child Development. Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/cupchilddev/autism Lara Salahi and Radha Chitale (October 23,2008) 10 Myths About Autism ABC news, retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=6089162&page=1