What Are the Signs, Symptoms and Aetiology of Autism
What is Autism?
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterised by impaired social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and by restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behaviour, the impairment can either be mild or profound, a low functioning individual with autism may be completely nonverbal cognitively impaired, self injurious and virtually unable to connect with close family members; a high functioning individual with autism could be verbal and of above average cognitive ability, average social interaction and may have formed strong bo-nds with close family members, teachers and some peers; it symptoms begins before a child is three years old, autism affects information processing in the brain by affecting how nerve cells connect and organize
Health Implications, Prevention and management of Autism
In this article we will examine the factors responsible for the emergence of autism as a public health problem, we will also look at ways it can be effectively managed and prevented, we will also look at the public health response till date.
Graphic representation of Autism
Signs and symptoms of Autism
1. Poor Social Cohesion:An Infant with this condition tends to smile less often, respond slowly to their own names, less eye contact, less likely to imitate and respond to social stimuli.
2. Autistic individuals do not develop enough natural speech to meet their daily communication needs; from the first year of life there might be delayed onset of babbling unusual gestures, in the second and third years, autistic children have less frequent and less diverse babbling, repeat other people's words.
3. Repetitive behaviour: They exhibit many forms of repetitive behaviour; the patterns include
i) Stereotyping which includes hand flapping, head rolling and body rocking,
ii) Sameness: Resistant to change refusing to be interupted
iv) Ritualistic: Unchanging menu, dressing or colour preference
v) Self-injury: eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging
Aetiology/Causes of Autism
A lot of scientific explanation have been provided and some have come up with many of the points that will be listed in this article thus:
1. Genetics
2. Prenatal environment: The risk factors include
- advanced age in either parent
- diabetes in pregnant women
- Bleeding and use of psychiatric drugs in pregnancy
- Prenatal viral infections: exposure to rubella virus increases risk
- Thyroid deficiency: if it occurs in week 8-12, could cause changes in the brain leading to autism
- Prenatal stress
Prevention of Autism
Unfortunately the uncertainty over the aetiology of autism has hindered primary prevention efforts; genetic factors have been the most implicated; to date no genetic model has met the challenge of explaining autism gender disparity. Some uninheritable factors (prenatal, perinatal infections, child vaccination) have been implicated in autism aetiology. In developed countries like the united states thiomersal free vaccines for children under 6 are now available by reducing the risk of children developing autism; but due to the low level of awareness in Africa it is yet to be known if these measures have been implemented.
Health Implications of Autism
Physical Implication
Impairement may be life long
Social Implication
- Emotional strain (parent and autistic child )
- Altered life style ( abnormal social interaction)
- High economic cost of caring for an autistic child
- Stigmatization
- Psychological trauma (parent and autistic child)
Management of Autism
Basic functional improvements in autistic children are typically seen with early behavioural intervention; researchers are now following cohorts of infant siblings of autistic children; this approach has led to a finding that deviations from normal pattern of movement may be useful in detecting autism as early as 4-6months of age. Parents should report to the hospital, if they notice any abnormal movement patterns from their baby; early behavioural intervention works greatly if autism cases are detected early. Autistic children are usually intelligent and very talented if well taken care of by their families and if accepted by the society
