Autism EssayAutism is one of the mental, emotional, and behavior disorders thatappears in early childhood. Autism, or autistic disorder, almost alwaysdevelops within the first 3 years of a child’s life. Children and adolescentswith autism cannot interact normally with other people. Autism thus affectsmany aspects of their development. Children with and adolescents with autism typically: -have a difficulttime communicating with others -exhibit very repetitious behaviors (likerocking back and forth, head banging, or touching or twirling objects); -have alimited range of interests and activities; and -may became upset at a smallchange in their environment or daily routine. Although symptoms of autistic disorder sometimes can be seen in earlyinfancy, the condition can appear after months of normal development.
In mostcases, it is not possible to identify any specific event that triggers autisticdisorder. About 7 in every 10 children and adolescents with autistic disorderalso have mental retardation or other problems with their brain function orstructure. Recent studies estimate that as many as 14 children out of 10,000 mayhave autism or a related condition. About 125,000 Americans are affected bythese disorders, and nearly 4,000 families across the country have two or morechildren with autism. Three times as many boys as girls have autism. Researchers are still unsure about what causes autism.
Several studiessuggest that autistic disorder might be caused by a combination of biologicalfactors, including exposure to a virus before birth, a problem with the immunesystem, or genetics. Scientists also have identified chemicals in the brain and the immunesystem that may be involved in autistic disorder. As a normal brain develops,the level of serotonin, a chemical found in the brain, declines. In somechildren with autistic disorder, however, the serotonin levels do not decline.Now researchers are trying to determine whether this happens only to childrenwith autism and why, and whether other factors are involved..
