Autism causes are still a mystery however evidence is pointing to the fact that there are huge unexplained increases in incidence of autism ( over 287%) and that very often it happens in clusters i.e. groups of children are diagnosed with autism in the same geographic area.
Suggestions as to why this is the case are debatable. Theories are based on chromosome abnormalities. This may mean the siblings of a child with autism are 75 times more likely to develop it themselves. Another school of thinking is that there is some damage from the environment and Dr Andrew Wakefield has presented evidence to support his argument that vaccines are at least a contributing factor. especially the MMR vaccine.
Autism can vary in the way it effects people and also the severity. Diagnosis is placed on something referred to as the ‘Autistic Spectrum’. Milder forms of the condition include Asperger’s syndrome.
The types of symptoms that come with autism might include difficulties in communicating socially and not being able to relate with others in appropriate ways. Autism affects the ability to form friendships and relationships. Very often in the developmental stages of childhood, play is affected and sometimes people with autism find it difficult to connect with the ‘real world’ so to speak.
Very often the diagnosis of autism isn’t made until the child grows older and there may be showing signs of not developing at check ups and usually this is indicated by their social behaviour. When the child starts school these symptoms are often perceived as behaviour problems such as possessive or repetitive behaviours, often they have difficulty in adapting to changes in routine. Their coordination may be poor either with movement or holding pens and such like. In some cases the child may have difficulty in making friends at school and in part this is due to the inability to read non-verbal communication form others and respond appropriately. In many cases the child develops other learning difficulties that can then follow them through life. However children with autism may be gifted in a certain area like art, mathematics or music for example.
In desperation many parents turn to prescribed medication to help the problem. However there are side effects with drug administration and often the side effects can be as challenging as the initial problems. There are however many natural approaches to supporting someone with autism and these are highly affective when used with the individual behaviours of the person concerned in mind.
Linda Porter, ( BA., Cert.Ed.,MIPTI, MFSHG, BFRP,MACTA, Dip.Phy. ASSOCIAT reg.) is the founder of the Holistic educational therapy Programme, a specialist in behavioural psychology and Education and natural and safe approaches to working with the impact on lives that behavior problems can cause.
Click the link to find out more about this complementary approach to Autism
Autism is a dreadful disorder, which affects an individual’s ability to communicate and associate with others. Generally the symptoms are detected in the first three years of the child’s life. In the United States, 1 in 166 people are affected by this disease. Although information about autism is scarce, some non-profit organizations have dedicated themselves to increasing the quality of the research in autism in order to bring out new treatments of autism.
Low levels of vitamins and minerals like calcium, folic acid, iron, magnesium and chromium continue to be the main attributed causes for the autism in children. It has been widely accepted that children suffering from autism who are treated with multivitamin/ mineral nutrient supplements show marginal improvement. Introduction of these nutrient supplements into the diet of autism-affected children contributes a lot in the improvement of the stage that includes high scholastic test scores, early neurological development, and scholastic test scores.
The autism-affected children treated with nutritional supplements showed improved learning abilities, experience cognitive, academic and substantial behavioral gains. In most cases, the follow-up research showed positive feedback from parents of the autism-affected children after treatment with nutrient supplements of Vitamin-B6 and Vitamin-c, Magnesium, Niacin, and dimethylglycine.
Innovative and Alternative Therapies for the Treatment Of Autism
The innovative therapy found to be most useful in treating autism is oral secretin. This should be given three times a day along with supportive therapy of vitamins. Most patients reported that they noticed a change in behavior within the first three days. Improvement in their social skills was also noticed. The overall cost of secretin and vitamins may come to $60 which should be continued for two days and the vitamin supplements may be followed as long as possible.
The other possible innovative treatments for autism lies with stem cell therapy (where one’s own cell from bone marrow is used), live cell therapy (live cells extracted from the animal being administered to the patients), oral organ extracts (administration of gut cells or brain cells for maximum effect in the autism affected children), and Lyophilisate extracts (Lyophilisate whole cells from Cytobiopharmica are being used for the treatment of autism sufferers).
The use of the antibiotic vanomycin being extensively studied since it is absorbed in the gut. The anti-protozoan drug, Metronidazole, also holds hope in treating autism since it is absorbed in the intestine and prevent diarrhea, which is the most affected symptoms of autism.
Naltrexone, a modern medicine played an important role in autism by blocking the substance endorphins, which produces an anesthetic like feeling. Use of Naltrexone for the autistic individual provides renowned result with improvements in increased eye contact, normalized pain sensitivity, general happiness, and reduced stereotypic and self-injury behaviors. The appetite is also improved among the autism sufferers after the treatment of Naltrexone. The side effects of this drug on the autism patient are also being studied and found to be nil so far.
You should consult your primary care physician for further advice on the latest autism treatments.
Rachel Evans writes a Free Autism Newsletter. Join For free Here: please visit Free Autism Newsletter To understand the autism symptom checklist or for more on autism therapy
Autism understanding begins when a person realizes that autism is a disorder that affects people differently. Although autism affects the normal functioning of a person’s perception, attention and thoughts, autism is not characterized by one type of perception, attention and thought. Instead, it covers a broad spectrum of disorders that may be mild or severe. Due to the fact that autism is such a complex disorder, medical research is still in the process of understanding how it develops and why it affects certain individuals.
One particular medical project with the aim to find better autism understanding by identifying the gene that causes autism, is the 5 year Autism Genome Project (AGP). So far, phase I of the AGP has identified a gene and parts of a chromosome to be linked with the occurrence of autism. The findings of this particular autism study was published online in the Nature Genetics February 18, 2007 issue.
The Autism Genome Project is a global research consortium that is funded by Autism Speaks and the National Institute of Health. Autism Speaks is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to raising the awareness of autism and raising funds to help research it.
The AGP involves more than 120 scientists from 50 institutions in 19 countries around the world. The researchers who have collaborated on the project combined their autism expertise, and shared all of the data and samples they had to help identify autism-related genes.
As was mentioned, phase I of this project began 5 years ago in 2002, and it allowed the team of medical experts to gain autism understanding by identifying a single specific gene known as neurexil 1, and part of chromosome 11 which could likely be the cause of autism in children. These findings are based on the largest autism genome scan that has ever been done.
Scientists have known for many years that autism is a genetic disorder, but only until the AGP have they been able to use special “gene chip” technology to search for genetic similarities in autistics. Genetic similarities were found in practically all of the autistic individuals within each of the twelve hundred families that that were made part of the project. The scientists also checked the DNA of each family to look for copy number variations that are believed might be connected to autism and similar disorders.
What the researches discovered in their study was that one particular gene known as neurexin 1 plays a significant role with glutamate; a neurotransmitter that has been formerly linked to autism. Researchers also uncovered an area of chromosome 11 that is suspected to contain a gene that may be involved in the occurrence of autism. However, this particular gene in chromosome 11 has yet to be identified which is required for further autism understanding.
Based on previous research, and the research that has been uncovered by the study so far, scientists speculate that there may be as many as 6 main genes and 30 additional genes linked to autism. However, these numbers are only theories, as scientists point out that the actual number of genes could exceed their theory. Nevertheless, despite the number of genes that may be involved, researchers admit that it is still far too early to dictate how these genes may be responsible for autism.
Currently, phase II of the Autism Genome Project has been announced. The promising discoveries found in phase I makes scientists hopeful that discovering the genes that cause autism will provide new steps toward autism understanding. With greater understanding, more effective methods of diagnosis, preventing and treating the disorder can be taken.
By Rachel Evans. Sign up for a free newsletter and discover more about understanding autism. On the site you’ll find more information about high functioning autism and autism research.
