What is autisim? What is it caused by?

Question

What is autisim? What is it caused by?I need help ANYTHING you know about it will help

Answer 1

nobody is really sure what causes it.. but i believe that it is caused buy the milk proteins in babies formula.. and an allergy to it.. you see most kids to not show autism til they about 3 years old.. fact....they seem to be fine and right around the ages between 2and 3 the parents notice some changes in the emotions of the child..

Answer 2

I have a son on the autistic spectrum, who was breast fed and diagnosed before having any vaccines, so please take these theories with a  pinch of salt. There may be some kids who may have developed Autism after vaccinations or after drinking formula.  Chances are (as you cannot get an accurate diagnosis before a child is 3) these kids were always predisposed to Autism. Society is always looking to assign blame and who better to blame than the parents.

It is a developmental disorder that is genetic. Contact your local Autism society

Answer 3

it seems that there is a genetic predisposition to autism-it tends to run in family-

it is not believed to be a chromosomal type disorder like down syndrome-but just something you may be more at risk for if a relative has it-just like diabetes, some cancers, etc.

No one knows what actually causes it-some suspect toxins like thimerosol (mercury preservative in vaccines)

a good website is www.autismspeaks.org

Answer 4

There is no known single cause for autism, but it is generally accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in brain structure or function. Brain scans show differences in the shape and structure of the brain in autistic versus non-autistic children. Researchers are investigating a number of theories, including the link between heredity, genetics and medical problems. In many families, there appears to be a pattern of autism or related disabilities, further supporting a genetic basis to the disorder. While no one gene has been identified as causing autism, researchers are searching for irregular segments of genetic code that autistic children may have inherited. It also appears that some children are born with a susceptibility to autism, but researchers have not yet identified a single "trigger" that causes autism to develop. (Autism Society of America)

Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life and is the result of a neurological disorder that affects the normal functioning of the brain, impacting development in the areas of social interaction and communication skills. Both children and adults with autism typically show difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities.

Autism is one of five disorders that falls under the umbrella of Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD), a category of neurological disorders characterized by “severe and pervasive impairment in several areas of development.”

Those with Aspergers Syndrome are usually highly intelligent but have great difficulty with interpersonal activities.

for more information follow the link below

Answer 5

Here is an Autism Symptoms Checklist weblink that you will find useful.

www.autism-pdd.net/checklist.html

Answer 6

my bro is autistic. its a syndrome caused by genetics (one of your relatives may have had it and passed it on). they just act very weird and arent social at all. they will physically grow but not mentally develop. (may still love to play with 7 year old toys at 10 years old) they are commonly "in their own little world" and dont pay attention to other people. scream alot. dont understand stuff. ask stuff about world. WHY???? they always say! the possibilites are endless..............

Answer 7

2sweetcakes7...  i don't think its been proven that Autism is caused by genetics.

Answer 8

Autism has two causes.  The first cause is genetic.  We now have sufficient evidence that this is the case.  However, NOT ALL autism is caused this way.  The senond cause is brain injury.

There are two major types of autism, of which you have probably heard, they are autism and Asperger’s syndrome.  First let’s look at classical autism, how would we recognise it?  Well, autism was first recognised in the mid 1940’s by a psychiatrist called Leo Kanner.  He described a group of children, whom he was treating, who presented with some very unusual symptoms such as; - atypical social development, irregular development of communication and language, and recurring / repetitive and obsessional behaviour with aversion to novelty and refusal to accept change.  His first thoughts were that they were suffering some sort of childhood psychiatric disorder.

At around the same time that Kanner was grappling with the problems of these children, a German scientist, Hans Asperger was caring for a group of children whose behaviour also seemed irregular.  Asperger suggested that these children were suffering from what he termed ‘autistic psychopathy.’ These children experienced remarkably similar symptoms to the children described by Kanner, with a single exception. – Their language development was normal!  There is still an ongoing debate as to whether autism and Asperger’s syndrome are separable conditions, or whether Asperger’s syndrome is merely a mild form of autism

In the 1960s and 1970s there arose a theory that autism was caused by abnormal family relationships.  This led on to the ‘refrigerator mother’ theory, which claimed that autism in the child was caused by cold, emotionless mothers! (Bettleheim, 1967).  However the weight of evidence quickly put this theory to bed as evidence was found to support the idea that the real cause was to be found in abnormalities in the brain.  This evidence was quickly followed by findings, which clearly demonstrated that the EEGs of autistic children were, in many cases, atypical and the fact that a large proportion of autistic children also suffered from epilepsy.

From this time, autism has been looked upon as a disorder, which develops as a consequence of abnormal brain development.  Recently, evidence has shown that in some cases, the abnormal brain development may be caused by specific genes.

However, we should not forget that genes can only express themselves if the appropriate environmental conditions exist for them to do so and so, we should not rule out additional, environmental causes for autism.  We should not forget that autism can also be caused by brain-injury, that an insult to the brain can produce the same effects as can abnormal development of the brain, which may have been caused by genetic and other environmental factors.   I have seen too many children who have suffered oxygen starvation at birth, who have gone on to display symptoms of autism or Asperger’s syndrome. So, it is my view that autism can also be caused by brain-injury.

We believe therefore that the cause of autism therefore needs no complicated definition, whether it is produced by genes, environmental causes such as, alcohol abuse or abuse of other drugs, infection, jaundice, malnutrition, or one of many other causes, - or by oxygen starvation.  It is simple and easy to understand.  The cause of autism is brain–injury.  We believe it is that simple!  The important and simple thing to remember is that autism is caused by brain–injury, in the same way that cerebral palsy is caused by brain-injury.  In fact, autism is an expression of brain–injury, again in the same way that cerebral palsy is an expression of brain-injury.

Difficulty in socialisation is an area, which characterises the entire concept of autism. To many parents the lack of willingness on the part of their autistic child to share in normal social action is of paramount concern.  One parent described her child as having social amnesia.

The social impairments, which typify autism are exact, that is, the child’s social conduct is not atypical universally.  It is incorrect to declare that children, who are autistic, have a deficiency in their level of curiosity in other people.  What they are deficient in is the proficiency for conveying or exploiting that interest.  Uninjured babies are focused on faces and voices, whereas autistic children do not seem to be!  They do not turn automatically to the sound of a voice, or fix their eyes on a parent’s face, and may actively avoid meeting their vision.  In many cases, this is due to sensory impairments, which can block the development of these social skills.

The importance of play

One of the first signs that a toddler or preschooler has autism is their atypical play.  Even the brightest youngsters with autism display highly unusual patterns of play.  Classically, children with autism over-focus their attention on visual aspects of specific toys, or noises, which their toys make.  Many researchers see this as a lack of imagination in autistic individuals and it is true to say that children with autism do lack imagination and spontaneity within their behaviour, preferring to stick rigidly to routines with which they feel comfortable and safe.  What we claim though, is that many times, these problems are created as a result of the sensory distortions, which they suffer.

Hope this helps.

http://www.snowdrop.cc

Answer 9

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old.

It is mostly caused by inheritance, genetic abnormalities, and birth defects.

There are a few ways to screen for Autism.

# No babbling by 12 months.

# No gesturing (pointing, waving goodbye, etc.) by 12 months.

# No single words by 16 months.

# No two-word spontaneous phrases by 24 months.

# Any loss of any language or social skills, at any age.

You can check out these links for tons of information.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autis...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism#Caus...

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publicati...

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problem...

Answer 10

Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior, all starting before a child is three years old.

It is mostly caused by inheritance, genetic abnormalities, and birth defects.

There are a few ways to screen for Autism.

# No babbling by 12 months.

# No gesturing (pointing, waving goodbye, etc.) by 12 months.

# No single words by 16 months.

# No two-word spontaneous phrases by 24 months.

# Any loss of any language or social skills, at any age.

You can check out these links for tons of information.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autis...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism#Caus...

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publicati...

http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problem...

Answer 11

ew i had a 2 hour field trip when we had to listen to a guy talking about it

i almost fell asleep but with the time i was listening

its when your body doesnt have enough chromosomes and your social skills arent as good as others