Autism Case Study
Autism
I was interested in learning more about Autism because I have a distant relative who has a son with severe autism. The parents are very bright intelligent and socially eloquent people. The father is a music theory professor at an elite school on the East Coast and the mother is so valued at her job that they fly her back to the west coast a couple times a month for various reasons while letting her work from home the rest of the time. They are very loving, patient, and caring toward their son and have sought whatever intervention they could possibly think of for him at a very young age such as speech therapy and behavioral intervention. The majority of his communication is confined to symbols that he seeks out on a computer, which indicates basic wants or needs. He has been known to inflict injuries upon himself and others and has had a history with seizures. I could walk into a room and he would not even know or care that I was there. He is very dependent on others and requires help in toileting, obtaining food, and clothing. …show more content…
As much as they love their son I know it must be a tremendous burden, as the simplest thing can turn out to be incredibly difficult. I was told that one day on the way to speech therapy he decided that he was not going to go and ran back to the car with no awareness of traffic. The father had such a hard time getting him back into the car that someone called the police on him. The boy is only nine. What is going to happen when he is a man? Autism spectrum syndrome (ASD) according to the National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke refers to a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction.
There is a range of severities that fall under this label some defined as being able to functioning independently and others that need substantial help for basic activities (NINDS, 2015). Some infants show signs of autism such as non-existent babbling when interacting with parents, or no eye contact, or becoming overly focused on objects (NINDS, 2015). Others may not show signs until two or three where they become less interested in social activity (NINDS, 2015). The Center for disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 68 children have ASD (NINDS, 2015). Boys are significantly more likely to develop ASD than girls (NINDS,
2015). Today scientists believe that there are a number of genes that play a role in the development of ASD, when coupled with environmental factors there is a probability that developing ASD increases though what that is is still unclear (NINDS, 2015). Some brain scans of people with MSD have shown differences in the development of the brain in a number of different areas, which are thought to occur during early development (NINDS, 2015). There is no cure for MSD and only some medications can help certain symptoms such as depression, seizures, or obsessive-compulsive behavior (NINDS, 2015). According to the National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke many children’s symptoms improve overtime and as they age with behavioral treatment (NINDS, 2015). I am hopeful that that is the case for their son.
Reference:
"Autism Spectrum DisorderFact Sheet", NINDS, Publication date November 3, 2015, http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm, accessed Nov. 19, 2015.
I was interested in learning more about Autism because I have a distant relative who has a son with severe autism. The parents are very bright intelligent and socially eloquent people. The father is a music theory professor at an elite school on the East Coast and the mother is so valued at her job that they fly her back to the west coast a couple times a month for various reasons while letting her work from home the rest of the time. They are very loving, patient, and caring toward their son and have sought whatever intervention they could possibly think of for him at a very young age such as speech therapy and behavioral intervention. The majority of his communication is confined to symbols that he seeks out on a computer, which indicates basic wants or needs. He has been known to inflict injuries upon himself and others and has had a history with seizures. I could walk into a room and he would not even know or care that I was there. He is very dependent on others and requires help in toileting, obtaining food, and clothing. …show more content…
As much as they love their son I know it must be a tremendous burden, as the simplest thing can turn out to be incredibly difficult. I was told that one day on the way to speech therapy he decided that he was not going to go and ran back to the car with no awareness of traffic. The father had such a hard time getting him back into the car that someone called the police on him. The boy is only nine. What is going to happen when he is a man? Autism spectrum syndrome (ASD) according to the National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke refers to a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties with social communication and interaction.
There is a range of severities that fall under this label some defined as being able to functioning independently and others that need substantial help for basic activities (NINDS, 2015). Some infants show signs of autism such as non-existent babbling when interacting with parents, or no eye contact, or becoming overly focused on objects (NINDS, 2015). Others may not show signs until two or three where they become less interested in social activity (NINDS, 2015). The Center for disease Control and Prevention estimate that 1 in 68 children have ASD (NINDS, 2015). Boys are significantly more likely to develop ASD than girls (NINDS,
2015). Today scientists believe that there are a number of genes that play a role in the development of ASD, when coupled with environmental factors there is a probability that developing ASD increases though what that is is still unclear (NINDS, 2015). Some brain scans of people with MSD have shown differences in the development of the brain in a number of different areas, which are thought to occur during early development (NINDS, 2015). There is no cure for MSD and only some medications can help certain symptoms such as depression, seizures, or obsessive-compulsive behavior (NINDS, 2015). According to the National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke many children’s symptoms improve overtime and as they age with behavioral treatment (NINDS, 2015). I am hopeful that that is the case for their son.
Reference:
"Autism Spectrum DisorderFact Sheet", NINDS, Publication date November 3, 2015, http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm, accessed Nov. 19, 2015.