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.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with autism
Middle Eastern families yield intriguing clues to autism
Jul 10, 2008 |
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Research involving large Middle Eastern families, sophisticated genetic analysis and groundbreaking neuroscience has implicated a half-dozen new genes in autism. More importantly, it strongly supports the emerging idea that ...
Researchers find important clue to learning deficit in children with autism
Oct 10, 2008 |
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A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has discovered an important clue to why children with autism spectrum disorders have trouble imitating others: They spend less time looking at the faces of people ...
Scientists propose new theory of autism
Apr 01, 2009 |
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Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have proposed a sweeping new theory of autism that suggests that the brains of people with autism are structurally normal but dysregulated, meaning symptoms ...
Does the H1N1 vaccine contain mercury?
Sep 15, 2009 |
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In the words of President Obama "don't be alarmed, be prepared" for the swine flu (or, officially, the H1N1 virus). But what if the preparation is more alarming than the flu?
Unusual use of toys in infancy a clue to later autism
Nov 06, 2008 |
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Researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute have found that infants later diagnosed with autism exhibited unusual exploration of objects long before being diagnosed. Studying a group of children at high risk for developing ...
The first autism disease genes
Sep 01, 2008 |
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The autistic disorder was first described, more than sixty years ago, by Dr. Leo Kanner of the Johns Hopkins Hospital (USA), who created the new label 'early infantile autism'. At the same time an Austrian scientist, Dr. ...
Research backs theory on autism, schizophrenia
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- New research by Simon Fraser University evolutionary biologist Bernard Crespi reinforces his theory that autism and schizophrenia are diametric or opposite conditions based on genes.
Gluten-free diets help many
May 22, 2009 |
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For 20 years, Maurie Ange of El Cerrito, Calif., suffered from chronic belly aches. A decade ago, she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and told to exercise more and increase her fiber intake. But the pain, bloating ...
Study showing evidence of a major environmental trigger for autism
Nov 10, 2008 |
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The American Medical Association journal Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has published a new study by researchers at Cornell University indicating evidence of an environmental trigger for autism among geneti ...
Study shows no connection between measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism
Sep 04, 2008 |
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In a case-control study, the presence of measles virus RNA was no more likely in children with autism and GI disturbances than in children with only GI disturbances. Furthermore, GI symptom and autism onset were unrelated ...
OrbiTouch keyboard: Removing the barriers of autism
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
Aug 31, 2009 |
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Autism can build a wall of poor communication between those struggling with the condition and their families. While a personal computer can help bridge the divide, the distraction and complexity of a keyboard ...
MicroRNAs Provide New Insight in Study of Autism
Jul 01, 2008 |
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MicroRNAs may play an important role in the development of autism spectrum disorder, according to a new paper by University of California, Santa Barbara professor Kenneth S. Kosik.
Vaccines and autism: Many hypotheses, but no correlation
Jan 30, 2009 |
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An extensive new review summarizes the many studies refuting the claim of a link between vaccines and autism. The review, in the February 15, 2009 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and now available online, looks at the ...
Precipitation levels may be associated with autism
Nov 03, 2008 |
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Children living in counties with higher levels of annual precipitation appear more likely to have higher prevalence rates of autism, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. The re ...
Genome-wide study of autism published in Nature
Oct 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In one of the first studies of its kind, an international team of researchers has uncovered a single-letter change in the genetic code that is associated with autism. The finding, published ...
