Autism is a neurological disorder characterized by abnormal emotional and social communication. Additionally, it is also characterized by repetitive and restricted behavior. It can either be specific or pervasive in nature. Specific autism manifests itself as impairment in only one domain, for instance in speech. The Pervasive nature entails a scenario in which autism is a spectrum of disorders characterized by impairment in communication, language, and social interactions. This syndrome is speculated to have resulted from an abnormal development of the brain (Evans 2017, p.87). It is one of the components of the autism spectrum of disorders and others being Asperger syndrome and pervasive developmental disorder.
History of Autism
The genesis of autism is from Greek word autos relating to self. In 1887, Dr John Langdon Down was the first person to describe developmental retardation that results from Down's syndrome (Silverman 2013, p. 20). Currently, this developmental retardation is associated with autism. In 1911, Eugene Bleuler described a symptom of schizophrenia using autism as the main word, hence the origin of autism. Additionally, he described some clinical features related to autism, such as delusion, rigid behavior, and withdrawal among others (Silverman 2013, p.89). The syndrome was further defined by Eugene Minkowski, a student of Eugene Bleuler, as the trouble generator in schizophrenia. Later in the 1940s, the idea of this syndrome changed. Leo Kanner from the United States conducted a research in 1943 in which he described how people with emotional and social limitations can also portray withdrawal symptoms. He named the condition as Kanner’s syndrome (Silverman 2013, p.27). The same research was also conducted by Hans Asperger in 1944 who named the disorder Asperger’s syndrome (Silverman 2013, p.40).
In 1939, Sigmund Freud developed psychoanalysis, a method used to treat psychological disorders. Psychoanalysis mainly focuses on unconscious mind and emotional disturbances that mostly result from childhood life, for instance, trauma, and could lead to psychological disorders. He proposed that early childhood experiences have a higher propensity of contributing to abnormal neurological development. Psychoanalysis was introduced at a point in history when diagnosis of autism was debatable, and sometimes it was associated with the mother’s blame. Therefore, medical personnel searched for the causes of autism using psychoanalysis and discovered that child’s early life contributes to it, and mostly mothers play an active role during this period. Leo Kanner in 1943 named the condition infantile autism since it appeared in the first three years of life. He suggested a theory that related autism to children probably comes from intellectual and educated families. Subsequently, Bruno Bettelheim continued with the work of Leo Kanner promoting the refrigerator theory. This was in the late 1940s and early 1970s (Silverman 2013, p.43). He stated that autism resulted from psychological harm impacted on the children by their mothers. He further formulated a case study where he compared the experiences of Nazi prisoners with that of children with autism.
In 1964, Bernard Rimland questioned refrigerator mothers theory and labelled it baseless and lacking facts. He argued that autism has a biological origin though his ideas were not popular since he did not have the media access like Bruno Bettelheim. Finally, a journalist by the name Richard Pollak who grew in a family where refrigerator mothers theory was supported later decided to learn about the life of Bruno Bettelheim. This was in 1997 when he published a book demonstrating how Bettelheim exaggerated facts and was putting mothers in a bad light without sufficient proof (Silverman 2013, p.45).
In 1971, Robert Reichler and Eric Schopler studied the impact of parents involving themselves in the management of autism, and in the following year Schopler commenced a program aimed at providing help to children living with autism. In 1977 Michael Rutter and Susan Folstein engaged in a study using identical twins where one was found to portray clinical features of infantile autism. They suggested that autism can result from brain injury alone or when combined with genetic aberrations (Silverman 2013, p.89). In 1994, parents with children living with autism established national alliance which the purpose of funding biomedical research on disorder.
Myths
Several myths have been put across to convey information about autism. Firstly, some people consider autism as a mental retardation. It is true that autism is associated with mental retardation, but these are two different facts. Some people with autism have been found to have a higher IQ and performed well in technical subjects such as mathematics. Secondly, people consider autism as laziness due to those living with autism being selective on tasks to perform (Donvan " Zucker 2016, p.45). This myth was considered baseless since some environmental factors such as light can prevent autistic individuals from performing certain tasks. Thirdly, certain individuals have contributed autism to bad parenting during childhood. This was later disapproved since some parents with autistic children were found to be responsible and even supported programs helped to manage autism. It has also been suggested that autism can be cured. It is true that some improvement has been seen in some patients, but there are always differences in behavior in normal children and those living with autism. Some people have also suggested that people with autism cannot feel or express emotions, but this was found to be untrue since people with autism can feel and express emotions but if only they become apparent. It has also been postulated that autism is primarily a brain syndrome. This was disapproved since it was found that people living with autism can have disorders related to gastrointestinal system (Evans 2017, p.87). Therefore, a lot of myths have surrounded this syndrome, but currently, a lot of research is being undertaken so as to understand more about autism.
Symptoms
Symptoms mainly begin at age six, peak at age three, and progress to adulthood. It mainly manifests with features commonly referred as the autistic triad. The autistic triad is composed of lack of social interactions, single repetitive behavior, and impaired communication and language. Socially, these individuals lack feelings towards others and keep less attention on social emotions such as smiling. They are mostly lonely and cannot make friends. Secondly, they have poor communication ability characterized by unsynchronized speech, repetition of words, and reduced responsiveness. They also portray repetitive behavior, such as stereotypical movements, restricted behavior, resisting change, and self-injury (Kandaswamy 2017, p.21). Other features associated with autism include anxiety, epilepsy, coordination difficulties, sleep disturbances, and hyperactivity.
Nature versus Nurture Debate
People have extensively debated on the causes of autism. Some people hold on the opinion that autism is caused by genetic abnormalities in the human body, whereas others associate autism with some environmental factors such as lack of maternal warmth during childhood. Studies have found that genetic contributes a greater percentage to autism, for example, 5% of cases involving dizygotic twin were found to have genetic origin as compared to 50% of the cases in monozygotic twins. It was found that characteristics of autism in both types of twins were different, hence associating it with other factors. With advanced studies, several genetic markers of autistic genes have been found. Some genetic disorders, like fragile x syndrome have been discovered to portray increased rate of autism. In the recent past, a class of genes associated with autism has been found to be regulated by neuronal activity, hence confirming the ideas that autism results from genetic aberrations.
Nurture has also been extensively associated with autism. Before the discovery of the theory of refrigerator mothers by Asperger and Kanner, children exposed to trauma in their developmental life were found to have autism. Animals aided studies have also shown behavioral changes similar to that of autism. It has also been found that social isolation contributes to autism. Interestingly, visually impaired children have been found to have some of the autistic features, but it increases with severity of blindness. Studies have shown that processing by the face, for instance, fixing eyes on others is extremely impaired in individuals with autism and has affected their social interactions. Oxytocin hormone has been found to enhance eye gazing and social interactions. This effect commences in the early childhood. Peripheral reduction of oxytocin has been found in autistic patients, hence supporting the idea of associating oxytocin with autism.
Therapies
Treating autism is aimed at improving the quality of life and relieving family members of the stress that is associated with caring for the patient. Behavioral therapy and educational programs in the early stages of life help individuals acquire social skills and self-care (Cage, Bird " Pellicano 2016, p.65). The other models that can help include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and social skills therapy. Some medications have been helpful in relieving of symptoms, for instance, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and stimulants. It has been found that Risperidone and Aripiprazole can reduce irritability in children living with autism. Finally, treating associated medical conditions, like epilepsy, has been found to increase the quality of life.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that management of autism requires teamwork. Family members ought to cooperate with medical personnel to help patients improve their social and communication skills. It is helpful to ensure that patients adhere to therapies aimed at correcting behavior. Additionally, public awareness is paramount to disseminate knowledge on autism which, in turn, contributes to the well-being of the patient.
References
Cage, E., Bird, G., " Pellicano, E. (2016). Reputation Management in Children on the Autism Spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(12), 3798-3811.
Donvan, J." Zucker, C. (2016) In a Different Key: the Story of Autism. Crown.
Evans, B. (2017). The metamorphosis of autism: A history of child development in Britain.
Kandaswamy, R. (2015). Autism: New Understanding of the Symptoms Through Discoveries Made in Psychoneuroimmunology. Autism-Open Access, 05(02).
Silverman, C. (2013). Understanding autism: Parents, doctors, and the history of a disorder. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
