Hca 240- Week 8 -Autism

Autism spectrum disorder or ASD is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders which includes Asperger Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (atypical autism) and classic autism also known Autistic disorder. Several myths surround the disease because of popular shows and movies such as “Rain man”, in which actor Dustin Hoffman portrays an adult male named Raymond Babbitt whom is autistic. The film won four Oscars at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989 which included best picture. Because of the spark of exposure on the disease most people assumed that there was instant epidemic and or that people with autism had extremely exceptional talents. But in reality, the reason why people assume these myths to be true are because of the spike in public publicity on television, film or if a famous figure begins to promote autism based foundations or like tony Braxton, who is the national spokesperson for autism and has joined forces with a “She Knows” in which she is raising awareness of autism. Toni Braxton’s youngest son, Diezel was diagnosed with autism at age three.
In 2012 the center for disease control reported that 1 out of 88 children under the age of 8 would have autistic spectrum disorder. There is no medical test such as blood testing for the autism therefore most children are not diagnosed and helped early on. Children under the age of three may experience several different symptoms such as eye contact avoidance, slower communication and reaction skills, and even may not respond to their own name being called. As they grow older certain actions suggest that the child may have trouble with understanding tone of voice and facial expressions and may began to experience repetitive movements such as rocking back and forth, twirling and also physically harm themselves with biting or head banging. Most common symptoms for parents to look for are lack of social responsiveness and language skills. Most physicians advise parents to observe their child’s behavior and record