AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Overview
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can affect a child developmentally, neurologically, and socially. They may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from others. ASD has a wide range of symptoms, behaviors, developmental and social delays that can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD require a lot of help in their daily lives; others require less. For this reason, autism truly is an individual disorder.
ASD has been affecting children for the past century but within the last 10 years at an increasingly rapid rate, increasing 123% from 2002 to 2010 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). Autism does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic groups. Autism is gender-specific affecting males 4.5 times more likely (1 in 42) than females. Children who have a sibling with ASD are at a higher risk of being diagnosed with ASD. In 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) grouped the diagnosis of autism together with Asperger’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorders not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Asperger’s syndrome is a higher functioning form of autism. Childhood disintegrative disorder is when the child begins to develop normally meeting each developmental milestone on time until the age of 3 or 4 years; then the child begins regressing, losing language, motor or social skills they may have previously learned. Rett syndrome is a severe brain disorder where a child begins to develop normally in early life, but between 6 and 18 months of age, changes in the normal patterns of mental and social development begin. Pervasive developmental disorder affects communication and socialization.
Background
ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects intellect, communication, and socialization with an unknown cause. Much research has been done in the search for a cause and the only common theme is that much more research needs to be conducted. Research in a variety of areas indicates that the cause is multifaceted. Researchers alluded to genetics and environmental factors with a possible connection to ASD but nothing concrete has emerged (NINDS, 2016).
The CDC established red flag indicators, which can be detected in children with ASD as early as infancy and up to about the age of 3 years. Red flag indicators focus on areas of socialization, communication, development, and 23behaviors. Some indicators include lack of meeting developmental milestones at the appropriate age such as head lagging, delay of speech, and no cooing or babbling within the first 6 months of age. Infants are usually social by gesturing, smiling, or turning of the head when their name is called; however, if ASD is suspected, infants develop a flat affect and lack socialization (CDC, 2016
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