Autism
hideAutism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism involves many parts of the brain; how this occurs is not well understood. The two other autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are Asperger syndrome, which lacks delays in cognitive development and language, and PDD-NOS, diagnosed when full criteria for the other two disorders are not met.
Autism has a strong genetic basis, although the genetics of autism are complex and it is unclear whether ASD is explained more by rare mutations, or by rare combinations of common genetic variants. In rare cases, autism is strongly associated with agents that cause birth defects. Controversies surround other proposed environmental causes, such as heavy metals, pesticides or childhood vaccines; the vaccine hypotheses are biologically implausible and lack convincing scientific evidence. The prevalence of ASD is about 6 per 1,000 people, with about four times as many males as females. The number of people known to have autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.
Parents usually notice signs in the first two years of their child's life. Although early behavioral or cognitive intervention can help children gain self-care, social, and communication skills, there is no known cure. Not many children with autism live independently after reaching adulthood, though some become successful. An autistic culture has developed, with some individuals seeking a cure and others believing autism should be tolerated as a difference and not treated as a disorder.
For more information about Autism, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with autism
Study uses brain scans to discover how children 'read' faces
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Nov 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Oxford University scientists are using brain-scanning technology to understand how we learn to recognise and 'read' faces as children.
Research Finds Ritalin's Benefits in Treating Children with Autism
Nov 19, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- UA researchers present evidence that the Ritalin is effective in treating preschoolers with Autism in a first-ever clinical trial to test the medication's efficacy with children with the disorder.
Children with autism show slower pupil responses, study finds
Nov 10, 2009 |
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Autism affects 1 in 150 children today, making it more common than childhood cancer, juvenile diabetes and pediatric AIDS combined. Despite its widespread effect, autism is not well understood and there are ...
Children with autism more likely to have handwriting problems
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Children with autism may have lower quality handwriting and trouble forming letters compared to children without autism, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journa ...
Language support in schools vital for children with autism
Nov 09, 2009 |
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Teachers and parents must be vigilant in observing difficulties with language comprehension, reading and spelling in children and young people with autism, Asperger's syndrome and ADHD.
Study estimates one in 91 individuals have autism
Nov 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are neurodevelopmental disorders marked by impaired social interactions, restricted interests, repetitive behaviors, and communication impairment, which persist throughout ...
New 'schizophrenia gene' prompts researchers to test potential drug target
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 27, 2009 |
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Johns Hopkins scientists report having used a commercially available drug to successfully "rescue" animal brain cells that they had intentionally damaged by manipulating a newly discovered gene that links susceptibility genes ...
Rare mutation dramatically increasing schizophrenia risk
Oct 25, 2009 |
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An international team of researchers led by geneticist Jonathan Sebat, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has identified a mutation on human chromosome 16 that substantially increases risk for schizophrenia.
Study surprise yields new target for assessing genes linked to autism
Oct 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have uncovered a new genetic signature that correlates strongly with autism and which doesn't involve changes to the DNA sequence itself. Rather, the changes are in the way the ...
Could drugs for mood disorders, pain and epilepsy cause psychiatric disorders later in life?
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Oct 20, 2009 |
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Young animals treated with commonly-prescribed drugs develop behavioral abnormalities in adulthood say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center. The drugs tested include those used to treat epilepsy, mood disorders ...
Study finds mercury levels in children with autism and those developing typically are the same
Oct 19, 2009 |
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In a large population-based study published online today, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute report that after adjusting for a number of factors, typically developing children and children with autism have similar ...
British hacker gets more time to fight US extradition
Oct 17, 2009 |
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A Briton accused of hacking into US military and NASA space agency computers was on Saturday given more time to fight his extradition to the United States, officials and lawyers said.
Experts summarize state of the science in autism disorders
Oct 14, 2009 |
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Scientific understanding and medical treatments for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have advanced significantly over the past several years, but much remains to be done, say experts from the Center for Autism Research at ...
Professor uses video games to explore facets of autism
Oct 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Matthew Belmonte, assistant professor of human development, is looking for order behind the many behavioral and physiological features of autism.
Scientists find autism-associated synapse alterations
Oct 12, 2009 |
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A Stanford University School of Medicine researcher has pinpointed the mechanism by which a gene associated with both autism and schizophrenia influences behavior in mice.
