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Title: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD): A GENERAL OVERVIEW


1
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) A GENERAL OVERVIEW
  • A PAPER PRESENTED BY
  • OKEY-MARTINS NWOKOLO
  • Mphil/Ph.D student, Developmental Psychology
    Department UNILAG.
  • Programme Supervisor, Acceleration Therapy,
    Lagos.
  • E-mailizuogu44_at_yahoo.co.uk Cell 08039112839

2
(No Transcript)
3
WHAT TO EXPECT
  • INTRODUCTION
  • WHAT IS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) ?
  • DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR PERVASIVE DEVELOPMENTAL
    DISORDERS (APA, 2000)
  • THE TRIAD OF IMPAIRMENT/SYMPTONS OF ASD
  • ADDITIONAL FEATURES COMMON WITH ASD
  • WHAT CAUSES ASD?
  • SOME FACTS ABOUT ASD
  • DETECTING ASD AT AN EARLY AGE
  • EARLY SIGNS TO LOOK FOR
  • OBSERVATIONS TO MAKE
  • MAKING A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT
  • INTERVENTION STRATEGIES
  • REFERENCES

4
  • INTRODUCTION  The term autism is scary. It is
    replete with stigma, fear, frustration and
    controversy. Stigma against persons and families
    with autism. Fear for parents who are worried
    over the future of their child diagnosed with
    autism and frustration for parents and teachers
    who struggle daily with the challenging
    behaviours and demands of supporting children
    with the condition. The controversial image of
    autism is even more serious and concerns
    professionals(including medical doctors)
    differences in opinion regarding definition,
    causes presences, intervention and cure. This
    situations leaves parents even more confused. Yet
    , they are interested in knowing more about their
    childs development and pediatric practitioners
    in Nigeria need to better prepared for this. The
    best thing you can do for these children and
    their families is to keep abreast on current
    developments in the filed and make informed
    decision about treatment.

5
WHAT IS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER ?
  • Autism was first described by Leo Kanner of Johns
    Hopkins in 1943. He identified it as a disorder
    with impairment in 1.     Reciprocal Social
    Interaction 2.     Language and Communication
    development 3.     Behaviour development.
     Autism is actually a subtype of a class of
    disorders known as Pervasive Developmental
    Disorder (PDD.) and there are 5 of these
    disorders. 1. Autism (Autistic disorder)
    2.     Asperger Syndrome 3.     Retts disorder
    also called Retts syndrome4.     Childhood
    Disintegrative (CDD) Sometimes referred to as
    Hellers syndrome or disintegrative
    psychosis 5.     Pervasive Development
    Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD.Nos)
    sometimes called a typical autism. Although the
    term Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has
    gained acceptance and is now used to mean the
    same thing as PDD, it is not yet an official
    diagnostic label. This means that you cant find
    the term ASD in either the Diagnostic and
    Statistical Manual of mental disorder (DSM. IV)
    or the world health organizations International
    Classification of Disorder (ICD).

6
DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIASEE LEAFLET
7
THE TRIAD OF IMPAIRMENT
.SYMPTOMS OF ASD LANGUAGE AND
COMMUNICATION        Child may not babble, may
be mute         The development of speech and
language may be abnormal delayed or absent
        May act as though deaf / or not respond
when called by name or even by gesture.       
May echo or repeat words, phrases, sentences / or
questions over and over again echolalic speech.
        Facial expressions and gestures may be
unusual or absent         Incorrect
understanding of speech . Words may be used
incorrectly         Production of speech may be
unusual. A flat monotonous tone or inappropriate
variation is tone are of noted        
Difficulties in initiating and or sustaining
conversations.  SOCIAL INTERATION       
Prefers to play alone         Little awareness
of others or of their feelings        
Difficulty in forming relationships.       
Theory of mind issues         Indifference to
or dislike being held, cuddled or hugged
        The most severe form in aloofness and
indifference to others, although most show an
attachment in a simple level of family members or
careers.
8
BEHAVIOR AND IMAGINATION Symbolic or
imaginative play may be limited or absent e.g.
cannot play with a match box as if it is a
car.May be routine bound. Insist on sameness
and resist change. Do not tolerate change in
routine or environment as this may cause
distress. E.g. changing his toy, school bag or
position of furniture.Inappropriate use of toys
in play.Morbid attachment to objects may hold
onto a teddy for the whole day.Throw tantrums,
screams often for no apparent reason.A tendency
to focus on minor or trivial aspects of things in
the environment, instead of being aware of the
meaning of the complete situation.
Hyperactivity or under-activity.May have a
limited interest and range of activities. E.g.
only interested in building legos.Some may have
exceptional abilities e.g. outstanding memory of
calendars, dates, painting, computing arithmetic,
music, etc.
9
ADDITIONAL FEATURES
  • Odd response to sensory input e.g. covering
    ears.
  • Engaging in self injurious behaviors e.g. head
    banging, hand biting, face/head slapping.
  • Stereotypical behaviors e.g. hand flapping,
    incessant rocking, jumping up and down, aimless
    wandering.
  • Repetitive/compulsive patterns of behavior
    opening and closing door.
  • Repetitive lining of objects such as legos,
    finger twisting or curling.
  • Language and or social regression e.g. sudden
    loss of previous ability to point, kiss, eye
    contact, etc.
  • Walking on toes
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Bizarre eating patterns food fads
  • Poor muscle tone e.g. clumsy with picking up
    small objects
  • No real fear of dangers may run into a moving
    car or put finger on a burning gas.

10
WHAT CAUSES AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDER?No one
has been able to answer this question precisely
and conclusively. The complex and pervasive
nature of the disorder makes it even more
complicated to pin-point the exact cause or
causes. It would appear that ASD occurs as the
result of varied and different biochemical causes
and presents as malfunctioning of the brain (ASA,
2003).
  • ASD is definitely NOT the result of bad parenting
    and children with ASD do not just choose to
    misbehave. This had been the impression during
    1950s.
  • Volkmar and Wielsner (2004) gave the following as
    evidence that autism was a brain-based disorder
  • The prevalence of seizures As children with
    autism were followed over time, it was clear that
    many of them went on to develop seizures.
  • The prevalence of neurological problems Many
    children with autism exhibit unusual features on
    neurological examination such as persistent
    primitive reflexes(which are present at birth
    but typically disappear in children after a few
    months).
  • The high rate of prematurity or other birth
    problems Some studies have reported that
    children with autism are more likely to have had
    complications during the pregnancy or after
    birth.
  • The association of autism with a number of
    medical conditions that are known to affect brain
    development e.g. phenylketonuria, congenital
    rubella, tuberous sclerosis, and fragile x
    syndrome. These associations are strongest with
    fragile x syndrome and tuberous sclerosis but
    research is ongoing.

11
GENETICS AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
  • There is evidence that genetic factors are very
    much involved in autism.Research on genetics of
    autism suggest that the predisposition to develop
    autism can be inherited, and that a range of
    other problems in language, learning, and
    social interaction might also be inherited.
  • There is currently much controversy and interest
    in the question of whether the environment can
    cause autism.Some reports suggest a link between
    immunizations or exposure to mercury in vaccines
    and autism. My opinion in this matter would be
    that Nigerian professionals should find out why
    many states in USA outlaw thimerosal. Also ,it
    may be needful to reevaluate the quality of
    vaccines that our children are getting in terms
    of ensuring that they are of the safest
    standards..and not rejected commodities from the
    west and USA. Furthermore, we might need to check
    or review the safety levels our current
    immunization schedules.
  • The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities
    (CARD) listed many biochemical factors that may
    be implicated in the etiology of autism,e.g.
    allergens,leaky gut,vaccines, etc. More
    information can be obtained from their
    website(see reference)

12
SOME FACTS ABOUT AUTISM
  • Autism is the third most common developmental
    disorder, following mental retardation and
    cerebral palsy.
  • Autism as yet, has no known medical test or cure
    but is TREATABLE.
  • It occurs more in males than in females at a
    ratio of 41
  • It appears to have 2 forms
  • (a) Infantile/static In which case
    symptoms are present from birth.
  • (b) Regressive In this case, there is an
    actual loss of previously learned skill. May
    present from fifteen months to two and half
    years.
  • Autism has no boundaries . It can affect anybody
    regardless of social status, religion, country or
    creed.

13
NEED FOR EARLY DETECTION OF ASDEarly diagnosis
and appropriate intervention leads to great
positive outcomes.Research has shown that the
earlier the intervention the better the prognosis.
  • Children do not simply outgrow ASD
  • It appears to be a deteriorating conditionsome
    describe it as progressively degenerative.
  • The human brain is very plastic. Prior to age 5,
    major neural networks are possible (Volkmar and
    Wiesner,2004). If a child does not develop or use
    certain tracts in the brain during these critical
    time limit, he may never fully do so. Obviously,
    children between 6 and 10 or more do improve, but
    it is a slower process, often requiring more
    effort to learn the basics ,and grow up
    developmentally. From personal experience, I
    cant say that I have the same top hope for a
    patient who is 9 or 10 that I may have for a 2-4
    year old.

14
EARLY SIGNS TO LOOK FOR Although there are
individual differences,some characteristics
appear to be universal among children with a
high risk of developing ASD.
  • Child does not babble or point at 12 months.
  • Child does not use single words at 16 months.
  • Child does not try to imitate words, scribbling
  • Child shows regression or loss of previously
    learned skill.
  • This may be language regression (e.g. stopped
    using words) or social regression (e.g. stopped
    pointing, kissing, etc.)
  • Acts as deaf or does not respond to name when
    called
  • Avoids eye contact
  • Does not take interest in other children
  • Does not like to be swung, cuddled, or bounced on
    knees
  • Does not play appropriately with toys (e.g.
    cars) but only mouths, fiddles or drops them.

15
OBSERVATIONS TO MAKEDuring your observation of
the child notice the following
  • Does the child recognize your presence?
  • Does he respond toHello or a handshake?
  • Does he make eye contact
  • Does he point or follow your pointing
  • See the Checklist for Autism in Toddles (CHAT)
    at www.featnt.org/info/chattest.asp

16
COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENTSIf your suspicion of
autism is still strong, you may consider more
specialized assessments by members of other
disciplines. Service providers such as
Acceleration Therapy, Lagos, may be helpful as
well.A comprehensive assessment will normally
involve the following
  • History
  • Medical Assessments
  • Psychological Assessments
  • Speech-Language Communication Assessment
  • Occupational and Therapy physical Assessments

17
Considering that the audience is made up of
mostly medical personnel, it might be necessary
to outline some of the recommended medical tests
for Autism. There is no specific medical test
for ASD. However, once you have a suspicion of
autism, you may want to run some recommended
tests to rule out other possible causes. Doctors
may check for
  •      Lead levels
  •         Hearing
  •         MRI scan
  •         EEG- for possible seizures
  •         Fragile x syndrome 5-10 of children
    with ASD present with
  • fragile x.
  •     Metabolic Screening Some treatable
    metabolic disorders may result in the
    manifestation of ASD.
  •       Chromosomal Testing
  •       Immunological dysfunction Allergens such
    as gluten and casein may be affecting the
    childs behaviour

18
INTERVENTION STRATEGES
  • To date, (medically speaking) there is no cure
    for ASD. Behaviour and Educational intervention
    approaches have proved beneficial to most
    children on the spectrum. Research has shown that
    approaches such as ABA, which offer structured
    intensive programming can be extremely helpful .
  • There are however, numerous other approaches
    which have been beneficial for some people with
    ASD. Some of the techniques overlap but there are
    basically two approaches those that attempt to
    change the child and those that attempt to change
    the environment for the benefit of the child. The
    latter has gained more research acceptance.
  • Intervention techniques which have been found to
    be beneficial to people with ASD, include
  •      Lovaas (ABA)
  •      Specialized Education
  •      Behaviour modification
  •     Occupational therapy
  •      Speech Language and communication therapy
  •     Auditory integration
  •     Relationship Development Intervention (RDI)
  •     Picture Exchange communication system (PECS)
  • TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and
    Related Communication Handicapped Children)

19
Sensory Integration Vitamin therapy Dietary
modification etc Option Institute (Son Rise
Programme) Drug treatments. Autism is here
with us. More and more children are being
reported to be on the spectrum. My biggest wish
today is that everyone here will become an
advocate for these vulnerable children and
families. We need to get parents out of shame and
denial. We need to campaign for availability of
appropriate services. We need to educate the
government and the public about ASD, we need to
get schools to open their gates for our children.

20
REFERENCES American Psychiatric Association
(APA). 1994. The Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of mental disorders. 4th ed. (DSM-IV)
Washington D.C. APA Autism South Africa (2003)
My Child May be affected by Autism Spectrum
Disorder (information for parents). CARD (2004)
Biochemical Flowchart http//www.centerforautism.
com /biological / biochemical/ Jordan, R.
(1997). Education of Children and Young People
with Autism Birmingham Volkmar, F.R, and
Wiesner, L.G. (2004). Healthcare for Children on
the Autism Spectrum. Bethesda, Woodbine House.
 Wing. L. (2003) The Autism Spectrum. A, guide
for parents and professionals. Wing. L. (1993).
Autistic Spectrum Disorders An Aid to
Diagnosis. Wing, L., and Atwood. T. (1987).
Syndromes of autism and atypical development. In
D. Cohen and A. Donnell an, editors. Handbook of
autism and pervasive development disorders. New
York John Wiley Sons, 3-19.
21
THANKS FOR LISTENINGYours in pursuit
of hope and help for children in Nigeria with
ASD.  
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