Autism

Autism is a condition that is present from birth although it is not normally recognised until around the age of 3. This is because it is mainly a social disorder and people do not really mix with other people until around the age of 3. In some people, it is not caught until later on in childhood

You don't 'get' autism, in the sense that you develop it or catch it. Rather you are born with it. Autism expresses itself in language processing and social behaviour disfunctions, which don't really tend to be obvious until children are of the age when they are supposed to be developing language and a capacity to relate to others. For example, some children with autism don't begin to speak until late, although when they do start, they are sometimes as articulate as the rest of their age group. Temple Grandin is an example of a person with autism who didn't start talking until relatively late (3 and a 1/2 - before that, she mainly screamed) but has become highly articulate and holds a PhD.

Autism varies in severity. Some autistic people never learn to speak, and these people will need supervision all of their lives. In a less severe case, such as Asperger's Syndrome, interpersonal relations are difficult, but necessary skills can still be learned, if the person is given extra help. Be patient.

Scientist do not know it's cause, though some do believe that it is passed down throughout the generations always skipping some of course.So, yes basically it is genetic, but others do think it is caused by mercury in vaccines you get when you are at the age of 18 Months, because some people only get it when they are that age (well, start to show symptoms of it).I have looked up in the internet though some people who have relatives or know people, and they said they had had it for all their lives. There is believed to be a genetic component to it, as it does have a tendency to run in families.

Rett syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that is typically caused by a mutation in the MECP2 gene located on the X chromosome. It is not classified as dominant or recessive in the traditional sense because it primarily affects individuals with two X chromosomes. It is considered an X-linked dominant disorder with variable expressivity and reduced penetrance.

Rett syndrome is not primarily caused by a chromosomal abnormality, but rather a genetic mutation in the MECP2 gene located on the X chromosome. This gene provides instructions for making a protein that is important for brain development. Mutations in the MECP2 gene disrupt the production of this protein, leading to the characteristic features of Rett syndrome.

Rett syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that primarily affects girls. It leads to severe impairments in cognitive, motor, and communication skills. Symptoms typically appear between 6-18 months of age and can include loss of purposeful hand skills, seizures, and breathing abnormalities. Treatment focuses on symptom management and supportive therapies.

My physical health has been affected by the Transylvania Effect all my life but it was only in recent years that I made the association with the Moon, having previously blamed my menstrual cycle! I have Asperger's Syndrome and run a parent support group for Autistic Spectrum Disorders. My son is Autistic and I had noticed that his behaviour worsened in the five days leading up to the Full Moon. I then issued the other parents with a health questionnaire in the form of a diary to see whether their children's behaviour also followed the same pattern and was not surprised to find that it did. I think that it is not only Autistic children who are affected by this, but many of them have gut problems and I have found that my digestive system is one of the main problem areas. I believe that lots of people are affected by this without realising it.

Another view

There has never been any scientific study with proper controls which showed correlation between the phases of the moon and people's behaviour. Whilst I do not wish to argue with someone else's life experience, I expect that there is another underlying cause for behavioural differences at different stages of the Moon's cycle. One guess would be that sleep cycles may be affected.

A trisomy is a condition in which a person has three copies of a chromosome instead of the usual two copies. Trisomy 9 refers to three copies of chromosome 9. A person can have full trisomy 9 (three copies in every cell) or mosaic trisomy 9 (three copies in some cells but not all).

Risk: Research in Denmark has uncovered the dangers of circumcision

Circumcision before the age of five can double a boy's risk of developing autism, controversial research suggests.

Scientists believe the finding may be linked to stress caused by the pain of the procedure.

The study of more than 340,000 boys in Denmark found that circumcision raised the overall chances of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before the age of 10 by 46%.

But if circumcision took place before the age of five it doubled the risk.

Circumcision also appeared to increase the likelihood of boys from non-Muslim families developing hyperactivity disorder.

Professor Morten Frisch, of the Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, who led the research, said: "Our investigation was prompted by the combination of recent animal findings linking a single painful injury to lifelong deficits in stress response and a study showing a strong, positive correlation between a country's neonatal male circumcision rate and its prevalence of ASD in boys."

While it is considered unacceptable today to circumcise boys without proper pain relief, it is not possible to make the procedure completely pain-free.

The pain of circumcision is likely to be more severe in very young babies both during and after the operation, according to the scientists.

Painful experiences in newborns have been shown in both animal and human studies to be associated with long-term alterations in pain perception, a characteristic often seen in autistic children.

Yes, it is believed that Isaac Newton had Autism. At the time he was alive Autism wasn't a diagnosis, but we can look at behavioral traits of historical figures to assess them as being Autistic.

Yes. A woman's risk of having a child with autism increases with age. Women in their 30s and 40s are at a higher risk than younger women, and if the father's half-brother inherited autism from the parent that gave birth to the father then the likelihood of him passing it on is slightly increased as any family history of autism will make it more likely to appear in future generations. Though most cases of autism are relatively mild, the severity of the case cannot be predicted by past cases in the family. For instance, the father's half brother could be severely autistic, but he may still father an unaffected child, or one with a very mild case. I would contact a genetic counselor for further review. If this is not possible, contacting a gynecologist/obstetrician is a good idea because they deal with health issues of the embryo and fetus and further explore the risks.

In fact, the risk of having an autistic child increases with the father's age. The older the father is, the bigger the chance is.

Yes, when referring to autism as an identity you capitalize - for example Autistic person, Autistic child, Autistic community. In general you don't capitalize autism, for example when talking about autism as a condition or autistic resources.

Research suggests that the development of autism is rooted in very early brain development. However, in most cases, no one cause can be identified. Research has identified several genes that can cause autism in and of themselves. These account for about 15 percent of cases of autism spectrum disorders. Research has identified more than 100 genes or gene changes (mutations) that increase the risk that a child will develop autism. In most cases, genetics alone can't distinguish why one person has autism and another does not.

Those most associated with increased autism risk include advanced parental age at time of conception and prematurity with very low birth weight. Other possible environmental risk factors include maternal diabetes or infection during pregnancy and certain birth complications, particularly those that may involve oxygen deprivation to a baby's brain.

Most autistic individuals hate loud noises because it's too bothersome and it can even hurt their ears. And can even cause damage to their ears. And most of the time loud noises-even if different loud noises happen all at once they can cause them to lose their focus on some things. And it can even cause trouble sleeping. For me, I really hate the sound of rain and thunder at night. That does get really disturbing. Even the sound of traffic. Wearing headphones/earphones and carrying an mp3 player is a good option.

There are quite a number of things that can annoy us. Crowded areas or situations, noisy areas (sensory issues with sounds), wearing uncomfortable clothing, being bullied or being judged, being verbally abused, too many changes going on, schedule gets too demanding or being forced to make eye contact, not to allowed to stim or self-regulate or even not getting enough/any alone time.

Reason why because of certain materials that seems harmful on their skin. Clothes that have scratchy or itchy material. Shoes can be a bother also (even shoes with laces, dress shoes). Socks with seams can hurt their toes and even the tags in the back of a shirt can feel irritable. Tight pants because most autistic people are sensitive to their stomach area. Certain lingerie can be overwhelming as well. Even when you wear your clothes when you're body feels a little wet after taking a shower/bath, it might still feel irritable. Even though they don't harm normal people. It's not like "they might complain about it for a couple minutes then get use to it." We have sensory issues and no one can change that by forcing us to get use to things that irritate our skin.

There are reasons why autistic people avoid eye contact is because it does get them into a lot of stress and anxiety when they're forced to look at someone in the eye. A lot of people would think they're not paying any attention. That they're ignoring them on purpose. Even though, that's not true. They might glance at you or look at your hands, or your mouth. They may respond to some questions and greet people. But doesn't mean they're being rude or not paying any attention to you. If they use eye contact during conversations, it's mostly because looking at the details and facial expressions you make when you talk. They miss out on all the things people are saying.

This behaviour is known as 'stimming' - repeditive movement used to calm or express emotions such as stress or joy. Autistic people are more sensitive to sensory input, stimming gives autistic people a clear sensory input to focus on in order to drown out other sensory input in order to make it easier to deal with.

Children who are described as "socially handicapped" feel uncomfortable in social situations and often find it challenging to interact with other people in appropriate ways. Because of the limitations such children with disabilities live with, engaging with other children can cause them distress. They can be limited in extracurricular activities depending on their specific issues.

No, not necessarily. Rocking back and forth alone is not an indication of autism, neurotypical people can rock back and forth too! It can be a characteristic of autism known as 'stimming' which is repetitive self-stimulation, it's a means of controlling sensory input to reduce sensitivity to surrounding sensory input.

Autistic people see and feel everything differently to neurotypical or allistic people. In terms of sensory experience we can be more sensitive to sound, taste, smell, etc. in many different ways - e.g. soft touch may be uncomfortable for us, or we may find loud noises harder to cope with.

No, autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that is typically present from early childhood. Trauma can exacerbate symptoms in individuals already diagnosed with autism, but it does not cause someone to develop autism later in life.

There are no tests for Autism at present. Autism diagnosis requires assessments carried out by therapists with knowledge of Autism, they first have to rule out mental health problems that may be mistaken for Autism such as social anxiety disorder, then go through characteristics and early childhood to determine if a person is Autistic. This can take from several hours to several years.

No one knows the true framework of this ailment, but people form decent hypotheses. Some parents of autistic children say they've noticed developmental delays very early on, but most forms of autism are regressive; meaning kids gain skills and then lose them. This aspect still dumbfounds scientists, and leaves them speechless. However, there are good chances that environmental factors, like vaccines, industrial pollution, radioactivity, and food preservatives, can harm kids who are genetically vulnerable, and can cause their developmental trajectories to stop and reverse cycle. Hopefully someday, we'll know the answer to this question, but until then, we can only predict.