Did you know that dinosaurs roamed the Earth for over 165 million years? Did you know that the dinosaur with the longest name is Micropachycephalosaurus? To Max, these are facts that come as naturally as the score for the biggest football game this weekend. Max’s favorite t-shirt has a bright red Tyrannosaurus Rex on the front and he sports it proudly once a week- always on a Tuesday. Sometimes the kids at school pick on him for his unique interests and his lack of social skills. Some of the children at school know that he is easily angered and will taunt him until he reacts. He does not have very many friends. Max is a little different than the other children at his school. Max has a form of Autism called Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism is a
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This number has been on the rise for the past 10 years. There are many speculations about why the number has spiked so drastically. A prevalent theory is that the DSM-V broadened the definition of Autism, making more children diagnosable. Under the DSM-V, Asperger’s Syndrome, Rett’s, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, do not exist. Many studies have been done to test if this new classification had any different stigma for a child who was previously diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. All of the studies have concluded that there is no significant change in stigma to being called Autistic versus having Asperger’s (Ohan 2015). It is now all under the umbrella of Autism. Another theory is that new technology and better-trained specialists identify more cases than have been identified in the past. Another less supported theory suggests that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is causing an increase of autism. The vaccine contains Mercury that could be a potential factor in the onset of the disorder (Brown 2005). The CDC also published the statistic that autism spectrum disorder is almost 5 times more common in boys than girls. Boys have a 1 in 42 chance versus a girl’s 1 in 189. Autism has been reported in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. There is no evidence to suggest that one group shows more cases than another (CDC …show more content…
The prevalence of a non-ASD developmental disorder being discovered in the individual is about 83% (CDC 2015). The co-occurrence of another psychiatric disorder is 10% (CDC 2015). Comorbid disorders of Autism include Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and a type of Anxiety disorder (Lawson 2014). Children with ASD have a 40% chance of developing an anxiety disorder (van Steensel 2015). Autistic children often have behavior that is spurratic and distracting. It is theorized that their anxiety levels are higher because of the behavior problems and higher involvement of teachers, parents, and therapists (van Steensel 2015). When a child is being diagnosed with autism, one of the factors that doctors must rule out first is ADHD. These disorders are the most common among children and a symptom of both is the impairment of their executive functions (Lawson 2014). “The task of doctors is to distinguish whether the impairment is a deficit in shifting/flexibility, and behavioral inhibition/ impulse control” (Lawson 2014). Deficits in shifting and flexibility are a characteristic of autism. Flexibility is the ability to move from one coherent thought to another and solving problems in different situations. Children with ASD also tend to have more trouble with their immune systems (Jaiswal 2015). As I will discuss later, a child with autism’s cells have trouble with signaling a
This number has been on the rise for the past 10 years. There are many speculations about why the number has spiked so drastically. A prevalent theory is that the DSM-V broadened the definition of Autism, making more children diagnosable. Under the DSM-V, Asperger’s Syndrome, Rett’s, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, do not exist. Many studies have been done to test if this new classification had any different stigma for a child who was previously diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. All of the studies have concluded that there is no significant change in stigma to being called Autistic versus having Asperger’s (Ohan 2015). It is now all under the umbrella of Autism. Another theory is that new technology and better-trained specialists identify more cases than have been identified in the past. Another less supported theory suggests that the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is causing an increase of autism. The vaccine contains Mercury that could be a potential factor in the onset of the disorder (Brown 2005). The CDC also published the statistic that autism spectrum disorder is almost 5 times more common in boys than girls. Boys have a 1 in 42 chance versus a girl’s 1 in 189. Autism has been reported in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. There is no evidence to suggest that one group shows more cases than another (CDC …show more content…
The prevalence of a non-ASD developmental disorder being discovered in the individual is about 83% (CDC 2015). The co-occurrence of another psychiatric disorder is 10% (CDC 2015). Comorbid disorders of Autism include Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder and a type of Anxiety disorder (Lawson 2014). Children with ASD have a 40% chance of developing an anxiety disorder (van Steensel 2015). Autistic children often have behavior that is spurratic and distracting. It is theorized that their anxiety levels are higher because of the behavior problems and higher involvement of teachers, parents, and therapists (van Steensel 2015). When a child is being diagnosed with autism, one of the factors that doctors must rule out first is ADHD. These disorders are the most common among children and a symptom of both is the impairment of their executive functions (Lawson 2014). “The task of doctors is to distinguish whether the impairment is a deficit in shifting/flexibility, and behavioral inhibition/ impulse control” (Lawson 2014). Deficits in shifting and flexibility are a characteristic of autism. Flexibility is the ability to move from one coherent thought to another and solving problems in different situations. Children with ASD also tend to have more trouble with their immune systems (Jaiswal 2015). As I will discuss later, a child with autism’s cells have trouble with signaling a