Autism Is The Most Severe Disability Through Human Development

Having a child given a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a very stressful event for parents. It is imperative to understand that there is much that can be done for both parent and the child. From the current literature we know that parents of children diagnosed with autism worry about many things like lifetime dependency to family dissonance. We know that these parents are distressed and angry, the parents of children with more unusual behaviors feel a lot more stressed than the parents of children with fewer unusual behaviors. However, having a strategy to approach it correctly and to get the best possible help for your child is probably the most important step, one can take to relieve stress and to aid the child’s development.

Autism, a developmental disorder is becoming widely diagnosed here in the U.S. and throughout the world affecting children in all different types of backgrounds. From children living in rural or urban, rich or poor. Currently there are many speculations and superstitions as to the causes for developing autism but science has no clear evidence as to why autism affects certain people and not others, autism can greatly affect the families and its patients for their entire lives. Most of you do not know that I have twin younger brothers with Autism. Before this speech, I had no clue what autism really was. Through my research I am now able to relay this information to you. Today I want to talk about Autism. The three things I will be speaking about is what is Autism? How does autism affect the family and how does autism affect people who have it?

The literature review explores the issues and challenges of parents of children diagnosed with autism, challenges such as accepting the diagnosis, lack of social and family support, guilt, judgment, and coping with the child’s autistic behavior. The studies indicate that there is a connection between the parent’s psychological distress, such as depression and stress, and parenting a child with autism. A big part of the battle parents are facing depends on their self-acceptance, feeling of judgment by society, and the child’s level of behavioral problems. Many of the studies also explore different types of coping mechanisms of parents of children with autism and suggest different solutions and interventions to assist the parents.

A lot of people don’t realize the challenges of living with a child who has been diagnose with Autism can be. It is a twenty-four-hour seven day a week job no vacation, no sick time and no pay. From the time the child is diagnosed it is a constant worry especially if the parents don’t know much about the condition. It starts with continuous Doctor visits, social services, and therapy sessions, just to figure out how serious the condition may be and what level of the disability the child has and this is only this beginning. Next, to find the tools the child needs to overcome the disability, like learning development and cognitive process, social skills, comprehension capabilities, and many more depending on the severity of autism.

Leo Kanner (1943) believes autism is a result of emotional deprivation. He notes that parents of autistic children are intellectually and analytically oriented, but lack emotional warmth (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009).Some psychodynamic theorist believe autistic children were born normal, but became autistic after experiencing painful interactions with hostile or cold parents (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The term autistic implies a failure to effectively relate to the environment. Autistic individuals are perceived as elusive and distant (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Behavioral programs are most effective with autistic children and are used to teach them language, communication skills, self-care, and adaptation to the community (Hansell & Damour, 2008).

The first three years of a child’s life is the most important and central time for the brain’s development. Autism is a disorder that can be diagnosed during the infant or toddler stage. Children can be diagnosed with autism by having different impairments such as social interaction, pattern of behavior, eye contact and speech impairment. Having the child being diagnosed with ASD can change a parent’s life view. Parents can learn different things in order to help their child. Parents will be provided by health providers different treatment, different placement in education and knowing about the different risk factor to make a difference for their autistic child now and in the future.

Autism is a rare disease that can be characterized by a “neurodevelopmental disorder categorized by the inability to relate to and perceive the environment in the realistic manner.” (Anthes, 1997) The signs of autism are mainly found in infants to young children usually between the ages of newborn to two years. The main symptoms that are discussed are “impairment in social interaction fixation of inanimate objects, inability to communicate normally, and resistance to changes in their daily routine.” (Anthes, 1997) Autism is a very understood disease but one thing most people do not know is that autism not only effects a child’s life mentally and physically, it also effects their social ability to have friends, play normally and even grow up

When it comes to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), many people don't understand what the disability is or how children who suffer from ASD live their everyday lives. “Autism is a serious nuerodevelopmental disorder that impairs the ability to communicate and interact.” (Psychology Today, 2015). Usually, autism is diagnosed in children from as early as the age of 2 and symptoms can impact individuals throughout their lifespan. Common symptoms of autism include impaired social interactions, impaired verbal and nonverbal communication, problems processing information from the senses, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. Anxiety is also common among children with ASD, and parents of children with ASD are more likely

In the past two decades or so, autism has changed from being a condition nobody had even heard about to widely recognized mental health condition. Due to widespread use of internet, social media and smartphones everybody knows something about autism. Just searching for autism in Google brings up more than 68 million results. Autism has become a matter of passionate national debate among different stake holders such as government, public health agencies, mental health associations, non-profit organizations, parents of autistic people and public in general. After the Affordable Care Act was signed into a law in 2010, there has been a renewed interest in autism with different groups wanting to include mandatory coverage for autism in the health insurance plans. The Affordable Care Act provides health care services to more Americans and access to preventive services at no additional cost which includes screening for autism for children at ages 18 and 24 months. After the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies/plans cannot limit or deny coverage to anyone due to any pre-existing health conditions. 1

Every single day is a struggle for an autistic child and his or her family. Autism affects all aspects of a child’s life from their ability to show affection to their family to being able to do simple tasks such as communicating and thinking in ways that we take for granted. Autism is defined as a developmental disability in which children experience abnormalities in social functioning, language, often act in puzzling ways, and usually appears before the age of three (Mash &Wolfe, 2010). Although the exact causes of autism are unknown there does seem to be a strong genetic component. Having a child or family member with autism is a constant battle of emotion and frustration. Everyone wants to help the people they love when they have

Do you know what is autism? Do you know how much mother suffers because of her autistic child? Most of you will say no and no one might know about the mothers that are suffering of their children because they don’t have enough information about this diesis, so they cannot communicate or even understand their children and they don’t know if they want something or if they want to eat or why their children crying or laughing with no reason. Also, autistic child always has aggressive behaviors that make the communicate between the child and the mother difficult.

One the biggest psychological disorders in our society is childhood autism. Childhood autism is defined as “A pervasive developmental disorder defined by the presence of abnormal and/or impaired development that is manifest before the age of 3 years, and by the characteristic type of abnormal functioning in all three areas of social interaction, communication, and restricted, repetitive behaviour.” (MHresource.org). Furthermore, boys are three to four more times likely to develop childhood autism than girls (MHresources.org). Statistics also show that the prevalence of childhood autism in births is one in fifty-nine and has grown 119.4 percent from 2000 to 2010 (CDC). Now, researchers are looking into what causes childhood autism. They are

According to the CDC, autism is “a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges (Facts About Autism, 2016)”. Autism was first discussed in 1943 by Dr. Leo Kanner, after he observed 11 children who had fixations on the inanimate environment rather than people (Quick Facts About Autism). It affects about one percent of the population, and is

Tens of millions of people have been diagnosed with Autism worldwide, effecting both genders, all races, ethnicities and people from all socioeconomic classes. In 2010 a Surveillance Summary was conducted in the United States, where it identified that one in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). It has been recognised

Financial burdens are an obvious upset to families with autistic children, on top of the already heavy expense of having a child there is now medical costs and often counselling. Sen and Yurtsever (2007) reported that families often feel “shock, denial, suffering, depression, guilt, indecision, anger, shame, bargaining, acceptance and adaptation” upon discovering they have a child who suffers from ASD. This disorder has effects on their daily “lifestyles, social relationships, economic situation, health, and goals or expectations for the future” (Norton & Drew, 1994; Sen & Yurtsever, 2007). “Autism is the most common neurological condition diagnosed in children and it is now