Carter-Autism

 Autism:

   Introduction:     

    Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is defined as a neurological disorder that could potentially be linked to our genetics. It is thought that it is passed down through our parents, however, the cause of autism is still unknown (Santangelo & Tsatsanis, 2012).  Usually, ASD is categorized as having complications with things such as social interaction, having little to no interest in things, and behaviors that are considered repetitive (American Psychiatric Association, 2021). Autism can be detected in a child before they become the age of one, but symptoms usually become more consistent between 2 and 3 years of age (American Psychiatric Association, 2021). Autism is a lifelong challenge and it carries the weight of having no cure. 

Symptoms:

    According to the National Institute of Mental Health (2023), common symptoms of ASD are separated into two categories: social communication/ interaction and restrictive/ repetitive behaviors. 

Social communication/ interaction symptoms could be things such as: 

-Making little to no eye contact

-Seeming like they are not paying attention to other people when they are speaking

-Not showing enjoyment, or emotion in objects or activities 

-Does not respond to or is delayed to respond to their own name

-Difficulty holding conversations

-Will go into extreme detail about things that they are interested in and will not understand if others are not interested in it. Usually they will not give them the chance to even respond

-Expressions, movements, or gestures usually will not match what they are saying 

-Monotone voice; Almost robot like

-Difficulty seeing another person's perspective or they cannot understand other peoples actions

-cannot adjust to social situations

-usually not very good at making friends 

(National Institute of Mental Health, 2023)

Restrictive/ repetitive behavioral symptoms could be things such as: 

-Repeating certain things or repeating specific behaviors, ex. a repetition of a phrase

-Intense focus on specific topics, ex. holidays

-Upset if routine changes 

-Difficulty with transitions

-More/less sensitive to sensory issues, ex. large amounts of people

(National Institute of Mental Health, 2023)

The symptoms listed above are just a few examples of what a life with ASD can potentially entail. Individuals with ASD have a lack of the ability to have social interaction. Sometimes these individuals cannot communicate at all. Not all individuals with ASD have all of these symptoms. Sometimes they will only have a select few from the list (National Institute of Mental Health, 2023).

Disability Impacts Development:

    

    Development is such a huge part of how an individual is set up for the future. If there is a challenge or an obstacle that is placed in the way of a child's normal development it can affect how they communicate, how they interact with the individuals around them, and so much more. Usually, the first developmental signs that have an impact on the individual is are found in their communication, social interaction, and  repetitive behaviors. However, autism has been shown to have an affect on things such as motor skills, visual skills, language, and eye patterns during social interactions (Shen & Piven, 2017). Children who are diagnosed with ASD usually develop at a much slower rate than children without ASD. In saying this, it is expected that due to it being developmental differences that are individually based, someone with ASD may not learn  any of the important and needed skills until much later in life. Which could potentially cause problems at both home and school (Coxon, 2021). Language and communication are  one of the most important developmental skills that is affected by ASD. 40% of children diagnosed with ASD are nonverbal and do not speak at all (Coxon, 2021). This is such an important developmental skill. It gives us the ability to express ourselves and our emotions. In not being able to do so could be so frustrating and add yet another challenge individuals have to adhere to when navigating the diagnosis of autism. 

Disability Impacts Cognitive Skills:

    ASD comes with so many obstacles and challenges that must be overcome, and how an individual learns is one of them. It is not a secret that individuals with ASD struggle in school. Those with ASD have a hard time understanding others and have a hard time paying full attention to what an individual is trying to tell them. Because of this, they may have a hard time understanding the point of what is being taught to them (Coxon, 2021). Also because ASD can cause a communication barrier, and individuals with ASD might not be able to fully understand what is being taught to them. They also might not be able to ask questions to better their understanding (Coxon, 2021). These individuals cannot show exactly what it is that they know or do not know, and this often leads to frustration (Coxon, 2021). Being routine based and liking to follow a strict schedule day in and day out is another aspect of ASD. This can have an effect on how these individuals get through a school day. They may struggle with transitions from one class to another, or even one activity to another, unexpected changes to their routine, and being able to focus (Coxon, 2021).

Disability Impacts Emotions:

Alexithymia is defined as having a difficult time finding and understanding emotions and usually focusing on experiences that happened externally rather than experiences that happened internally (Mone, Jackson, Zhai, Potenza, & Dritschel, 2019). Alexithymia is extremely common in individuals with ASD. However, it is important to know that you can have autism and not have alexithymia (Brewer & Murphy, 2016). It is commonly thought that individuals with autism do not possess empathy and that they cannot fully understand emotions. This could not be farther from the truth (Brewer & Murphy, 2016). Individuals with autism do not process or show emotion like individuals without autism do, but they do not lack the ability to do so. It is just harder for them. Alexithymia blurs an individual's ability to understand what emotion they are experiencing. They understand that they are undergoing an emotion, but they can not decipher which specific one (Brewer & Murphy, 2016). Roughly 10% of the general public and about 50% of those diagnosed with autism, have alexithymia (Brewer & Murphy, 2016). 

References:

Santangelo, S.L., Tsatsanis, K. What is Known About Autism. Am J Pharmacogenomics 5, 71–92 (2005). https://doi.org/10.2165/00129785-200505020-00001

What is autism spectrum disorder?. Psychiatry.org - What Is Autism Spectrum Disorder? (n.d.). https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/autism/what-is-autism-spectrum-disorder 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.-a). Autism spectrum disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd 

Shen MD, Piven J. Brain and behavior development in autism from birth through infancy. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2017 Dec;19(4):325-333. doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.4/mshen. PMID: 29398928; PMCID: PMC5789210.

Coxon, S. (2023, February 14). The impact of autism in learning and development. senploy. https://www.senploy.co.uk/blog/2021/4/19/the-impact-of-autism-in-learning-and-development 

Morie KP, Jackson S, Zhai ZW, Potenza MN, Dritschel B. Mood Disorders in High-Functioning Autism: The Importance of Alexithymia and Emotional Regulation. J Autism Dev Disord. 2019 Jul;49(7):2935-2945. doi: 10.1007/s10803-019-04020-1. PMID: 31028592; PMCID: PMC7375152.

Brewer, R., & Murphy, J. (2016, July 13). People with autism can read emotions, feel empathy. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/people-with-autism-can-read-emotions-feel-empathy1/ 

Cannon, D. (2023, May 23). Autism benefits for children. Cannon Disability Law. https://cannondisability.com/blog/autism-benefits-for-children/ 

Autism spectrum disorder: Autistic brains vs Non-Autistic Brains - PsyCom. (n.d.). https://www.psycom.net/autism-brain-differences