Autism: The Personality Thief
by. Christine J. McQueen, RN
Spring is here and we are rejoicing in the renewal of life
during this time of year. Those of us
who are avid gardeners have already planted the spring crops and are in the
process of making preparations for the upcoming planting of the warm weather
crops. Those of us who have to maintain
lawns are experiencing lawns that have awakened from their winter sleeping,
growing very rapidly, and requiring regular cutting. The dogwoods are blooming along with many
other flowering plants. The pollen is
everywhere, on everything, aggravating those who are sensitive to it, and
giving many car owners new paint jobs. A
lot of this pollen goes to fertilizing plants so that new plants are born to
ensure the survival of future
generations. The remainder of the pollen
gets washed away by the spring rain showers.
This life brings circumstances, situations, and adversities that many of
us would welcome the spring rains to come and wash them away. These difficulties come in the form of
parenting this generation of children, bills, health problems, and addiction
just to name a few. There are many
health problems that face many of us like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, high
cholesterol, asthma, kidney disease, and
fibromyalgia just to name a few.
April is national Autism month so it is only right to bring awareness
and attention to this health concern.
Autism is one of the many health problems that many people and their
families face each day as this disorder can rob its sufferer of the ability to
properly communicate, socially interact, and behave with their loved ones.
Autism is a complex developmental disorder of brain function
that has a range of intellectual and behavioral deficits. It occurs during infancy and early childhood
from 18 to 30 months of age. It occurs
in 1 out of 88 births in the US and in 1 out of 54 boys as it is more common in
males, but more females are affected severely.
The incidence of autism is not related to socioeconomic, ethnicity, or
parenting style.
The cause of autism is an unsolved and controversial
question. Those with autism may have
abnormal electroencephalogram, suffer from epileptic seizures, have delayed
development of hand dominance, have persistent primitive reflexes, have
elevated blood serotonin, have the diagnosis of cerebellar vermal hypoplasia,
have the diagnosis of fragile X syndrome, have the diagnosis of tuberous
sclerosis, have the diagnosis of rubella syndrome, or suffer from untreated
phenylketonuria (PKU). There have been
recent concerns that mercury-based preservatives found in many vaccines along
with our children’s increased exposure to other heavy metals like mercury has
caused an increase in the incidence of autism.
Research into the causes of autism continues to this day.
Children with autism have several peculiar and bizarre
characteristic, mostly with social interactions, communication, and
behavior. Children with autism have a
lack of or a delay in spoken language, engage in the repetitive use of language
and/or motor mannerism (e.g. hand flapping, twirling objects), give little or
no eye contact to others, have a lack of interest in having peer relationships,
have a lack of spontaneous or make-believe play, and have a persistent fixation
on parts or objects.
Children with autism do not always have the same
manifestations as mild forms of this disorder require minimal supervision by
adults where as those who suffer from the severe form of this disorder
(engaging in self-abuse) require maximum supervision from adults. Most children with autism have some degree of
mental retardation (MR) with intelligence quotient (IQ) scores in the moderate
to severe range. More females tend to
have very low IQ scores. Despite being
moderately to severely disabled, some children with autism excel in areas of
art, music, memory, math, and puzzle building and are called savants.
Autism can be a disabling condition without early
recognition of the behaviors that are associated with autism. Children with
autism will engage in abnormal social play, poorly imitate others, lack the
awareness of others, engage in impaired imaginative play, and have deficiencies
in nonverbal and verbal communication. Parents
of young children should pay attention to the five early warning signs of
autism which are: 1) no cooing or
babbling by 12 month 2) no gesturing (pointing, waving, grasping) by 12 months
3) no words by 16 months 4) no two-word phrases on his or her own by 24 months
5) has any loss of language or social skills at any age. The outcome is most favorable for children
who have developed communicative speech by age 6 and have IQ scores above 50 at
the time that the diagnosis is made.
There are accounts of children improving through obtaining language
skills and communication with others.
Ultimate independence is obtained by some, but most will need lifelong
adult supervision. The aggravation of
psychiatric symptoms occurs in about half of the children during their teens
with girls having the tendency to deteriorate.
Therapy for children with autism include providing a
structured routine for the child to follow which promotes positive
reinforcement, increases social awareness of others, teaches verbal
communication skills, and decreases unacceptable behaviors. Not all children with autism are the same and
will require individual treatment. Early
diagnosis and early education will positively influence the child’s future
development. Children with autism have
trouble with trust and will need to be introduced slowly to new
situations. Some children with autism
have disturbing sleep patterns. Some are
very fussy eaters who will willfully starve themselves or gag to prevent eating
or are voracious eaters who will eat anything including inedible items so adult
supervision is key in keeping them safe from themselves. They need to be told directly what to do
because they have difficulty organizing their behavior and redirecting their
energy. Communication must be at the
child’s developmental level, brief, and concrete.
Autism involves the entire family and oftentimes becomes a
family disorder. Parents need expert
counseling early in the course of the disorder and should be referred to the
Autism Society of America (ASA) which provides information about education,
treatment programs, techniques, and facilities such as camps. There is also a siblings group called SHARE
(Siblings Helping Persons With Autism Through Resources and Energy). Other helpful resources are local and state
department of mental health and developmental disabilities. As much as possible families are encouraged
to care for the child in the home. With
family support programs in many states, families are oftentimes able to provide
the necessary home care and assist with educational services the child needs. So there are numerous resources and support
available so that families do not have to feel isolated and abandoned as they
undertake the task of caring for their loved one, oftentimes, for the rest of
their lives. For more information
contact: Autism Society of America 8601
Georgia Avenue Suite 503 Silver Spring Maryland 20910 (301) 657-0881 www.autism-society.org by.
Christine J. McQueen, RN
