Several of you would most likely recognize what autism is through watching the movie Rain Man, whose character was so brilliantly played by Dustin Hoffman. The movie highlighted several of the frustrations faced by families with managing an autistic child or adult. It sheds light on the daily realities that a high-functioning person must face with autism. But, there are still several myths surrounding autism.
Therefore, allow us to get a number of the facts straight in this text - what's autism? Autism is a brain disorder that affects an estimated 210,000 people in the United States. This comes up to approximately 1.5 per one thousand people. Several advocacy groups are sounding the alarm that autism cases have risen exponentially since 1993, the primary year that information for autism was submitted separately to the Department of Education. According to the statistics, this would mean that autism cases in the U.S. population have risen an alarming 800% in 10 years. Despite this set of statistics, several aren't convinced by the data. They believe that there has been a elementary flaw in data collection. Reasons include the loosening of diagnostic criteria for autism in addition to the actual fact that the figures were understated years ago as hardly anyone knew what autism was then.
Autism is an umbrella term that refers to a broad vary of developmental delays and disorders. It's sometimes first noticed in an exceedingly kid when she is three years of age. Oldsters of autistic kids can be saddened to search out out that autism is a lifelong condition.
Several years ago, autism symptoms are often attributed to "cold parenting" or "unloving parents". Medical doctors no longer believe that there's any psychological cause for autism. Despite numerous studies, there's no known cause for autism. There are many that say that environmental factors are major contributors.
The DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition) lays out a complicated criteria for diagnosing autism in children and adults, but generally the symptoms of autism embrace:
- Delays (or the loss of) physical, social and language skills.
- Abnormal reactions to sensation
- Speech and language delays or abnormalities while associated thinking skills might be present
- Abnormal ways that of referring to people, objects and events.
If you simply found out that your kid is autistic, you may find it challenging to deal with the quantity of knowledge and myths that are floating around. In addition, there are a lot of social and emotional issues that you have to handle. For example, you will even realize that others have a bias towards you if they still believe in autism comes from bad parenting. You'll also feel bewildered by the array of treatments that are on the market to autistic children and even sadly disappointed by the lack of understanding displayed by mainstream colleges and medical facilities.
Personally, I did not have a lot of support and facilitate once I 1st got the diagnosis from the psychologist who saw my daughter. She didn't present me with any comforting thoughts nor suggest alternative therapies. I have been left to my very own devices to search for acceptable treatments and therapies for my child. What I do find useful to share from my very own expertise is that early detection and intervention will help by leaps and bounds. Despite what the psychologist told me, I've got reasons to hope that my daughter will live independently as she gets older.
Author Resource:-
Dorish Hill has been writing articles online for nearly 2 years now. Not only does this author specialize in Autism, you can also check out his latest website about: