By: Nour Hany
The 2nd of April is Autism Awareness day and April is Autism Awareness Month of each year.
Autism spectrum disorder affects people differently and it is a complex disorder that is still under research. It affects people's relationships, social skills, communication, and self-regulation; it could also make someone's interests, activities, and behaviors repetitive or restricted. These symptoms are known to often appear during a person's childhood, but they could also appear throughout a person's life. Some autistic people also have sensory issues making them under- or over-sensitive to touch, light, sound, or other stimuli.
Up till now, there is no such thing as a blood test to diagnose autism spectrum disorder. However, the most affected are usually white boys, but this disorder could definitely affect anyone. Some studies mentioned that the reason why other kids may not be diagnosed is that their families lack healthcare or because they cannot speak English.
Girls might be underdiagnosed as their symptoms differ from those of boys. There is still a lot to learn about autistic girls, and how to diagnose the disorder in girls. The disorder could be diagnosed in children by the age of two, but the average age of diagnosis is four. However, some minorities may take longer to be diagnosed.
"t is important for those that are affected to be diagnosed early because interventions are most effective at treating the disorder when they are applied early. Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is one treatment approach that involves implementing habits, like positive behaviors, that help children with autism develop the skills they need as an individual. This method might encourage kids to speak to their peers, increase their attention span, or reduce challenging behaviors, for example.
Research is still ongoing on what causes this disorder to happen. One of the reasons may be small changes in some genes, causing a higher risk of being affected and leading to the disorder running in families. Some environmental factors could also cause the appearance of this disorder, such as Low birth weight, pregnancies occurring within a year of another, extreme prematurity, and advanced ages in one or both parents (over 35 for mothers and over 40 for fathers).
Reference
https://www.labroots.com/trending/health-and-medicine/20146/april-autism-awareness-month