Jared Brown

AP English Literature and Composition

A. Wilson

5-11-18

Autism Spectrum

Thesis: Autism is a disease that more and more children are being diagnosed with, but new

technology and education has lead to a better understanding of autism and better treatment

options for those who are diagnosed on the autism spectrum.

I. Defining Autism

A. Signs and Symptoms

B. Types of ASD

C. Facts

II. Technology and Education

III. Assessment and Diagnosis

A. Early Indicators

B. Screening for ASD

IV. Types of Therapies

V. Conclusion

Jared Brown
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AP English Literature and Composition

A. Wilson

5-11-18

Autism

People who have Autism or Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are becoming more and

more identified in today’s society due to many new innovations in technology and education.

Even with all of this new technology and education a definite cause of Autism is still

unidentified. Autism does not necessarily affect how someone looks but rather how they act,

think, and understand things that go on around them. Both types of Autism are basically terms

for a group of disorders in brain development. “ These disorders are characterized, in varying

degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive

behaviors.” (“ What Is Autism?”). Through recent research Autism seems to develop in the early

stages brain development. The signs of someone with Autism typically occur between 2 and 3

years of age. Even though the signs of Autism are more prominent in children, adults can too

have signs of Autism or ASD.

The signs and symptoms of Autism can be easily overlooked and seen as something not

so serious because of the signs are most prominent in the early stages of a person’s life. People

who have Autism act differently than most people in social situations or respond to emotional

problems differently or not communicate well or communicate hardly at all. People with Autism

tend to stick to their own ways of doing activities; they also tend to hate changes in their life.

“Many people with ASDs also have different ways of learning, paying attention, or reacting to
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things.” (“ What Is Autism?”). Some signs of Autism are things such as : not looking at objects

when someone points it out, repeat words and phrases that they hear, and lose skills that they

once had. (“ What Is Autism?”). There are many more signs that are associated with Autism but

are so simple that they seem unimportant to most people or people will think that the child will

just grow out of it. When one notices these symptoms or symptoms similar to these they should

contact their primary care provider and have them evaluated for Autism or something similar to

it.

There are three types of Autism that is diagnosed, they are Autistic Disorder (classic

autism), Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Development Disorder, “ People with autistic

disorder usually have significant language delays, social and communication challenges, and

unusual behaviors and interests.” (“ What Is Autism?”). People with Autistic Disorder also are

known to have some type of intellectual disability. Asperger Syndrome is a less significant type

of disorder in the Autism spectrum, but still has its downfalls. Similar to Autism, people with

Asperger Syndrome have social challenges and unusual behaviors but they are not as extreme as

those with Autism. People with Asperger Syndrome typically do not have the problems with

language or a type of intellectual disability. Pervasive Development Disorder is typically given

to those or have some symptoms that are identified with Autism or Aspergers but not all of them.

Typically the only symptoms of Pervasive Development Disorder are social or communication

challenges. All types of disorders are significant, important, and should be quickly identified and

the person who is identified should begin the therapy process appropriate to their own disorder.

Autism and disorders similar to Autism are becoming diagnosed more frequently because

of better understanding of Autism and the education of parents and society as a whole of the

signs and symptoms of Autism,“ Autism statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
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Prevention (CDC, April 2012) identify around 1in 68 American children as on the autism

spectrum.” (“ What Is Autism?”). Also the prevalence of Autism has increased from six percent

to fifteen percent (“ What Is Autism?”). Along with this increase of diagnosis, autism is five

times more common in boys rather than girls. “ An estimated 1 out of 48 boys and 1 in 252 girls

are diagnosed with autism in the United States.” (“ What Is Autism?”). This significant

difference in the amount of boys and girls who are diagnosed is probably due to the brain

development of each gender. Girls tend to have a quicker brain development than their male

counterparts.

The assessment and diagnosis is very difficult but has gradually gotten better because of

the extensive research put into Autism. Doctors, caregivers, teachers, parents, and even siblings

are starting to understand and recognize the signs of someone who may have Autism. Some early

indicators of Autism are “ avoid eye contact and want to be alone, repeat actions over and over

again, and have trouble adapting when a routine changes” ( “What Is Autism?”). These are just a

couple of the early indicators that have been linked to children with Autism. Once someone

thinks that their child, family member, or patient may have Autism they should contact their

personal doctor and ask what they think. If the doctor thinks that the child has some signs of

Autism they doctor will most often times request a referral. Along with referrals if the patient is

showing extreme signs or a lot of signs of Autism the doctor may prefer that the patient starts

some form of occupational and speech therapy. Another option that is highly recommended

would be to contact your local early intervention agency, this is the common practice for those

that under three years old. For those who have the signs and are over the age of three the

common procedure is to contact the child’s school and see what can be worked out between the

parent, child, and teachers at the school.

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After the doctor referral and the school intervention a screening while often times be the

next step in identifying the severity of the Autism. Diagnosing and screening for Autism is

extremely difficult. It is not like other diagnostic tests where you can take blood to test whether

the patient has Autism or not. Autism can sometimes be detected and identified in children

eighteen months or younger, “ By age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be

considered very reliable.” ( Screening and Diagnosis). Unfortunately though most children do not

receive a full diagnosis until they are much older, this extended waiting period makes it harder

on the children who are diagnosed. If the children can be identified and begin their treatments

earlier on in their life while their brain is still not fully developed the chances of the severity of

Autism decreases. There are two steps to diagnosing someone with Autism or something on the

Autism Spectrum. The order of these steps are development screening followed by a

comprehensive diagnostic evaluation.

The development screening is a little test to see if the child is learning what they should

be learning at their age. (Screening and Diagnosis). During a developmental screening a doctor

usually asks the parent about how the child acts at home, what do they do, what do they say, or

maybe how they act around certain people. Along with parental input the doctor may “play with

the child during an exam to see how the child learns, speaks, behaves, and moves.” ( Screening

and Diagnosis). The increase of people being diagnosed with Autism and the enhanced

understanding of the signs and symptoms of children has lead to testing for Autism to regularly

occur throughout the early life of children. Development screening should occur on regular

doctor visits but if there are extremely prominent delays in the child further screening may take

place later on in life. If the child starts to develop delays in learning or speaking that is noticeable

by the doctor then a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation will be recommended next.

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The comprehensive evaluation more in depth and thorough than the developmental

screening, “This thorough review may include looking at the child’s behavior and development

and interviewing the parents.” ( Screening and Diagnosis). During this comprehensive evaluation

there may be other tests performed such as hearing and vision tests, genetics, neurological, or

other forms of medical and mental tests to see if the child has Autism and the severity of the

Autism. Along with the developmental screening and the comprehensive diagnostic evaluation

the doctor may refer the child to a specialist for further assessment and diagnosis. The three most

common types of specialists are Developmental Pediatricians and Child Neurologists and Child

Psychologist. All of these professions deal with children and they all understand how a child

should act if there are no learning delays. The constant testing and visits with specialists can be

stressful on the child and the parents, but it is necessary. These tests are beneficial to more than

the child and parent; the results and findings are used by the scientific community to broaden

their understanding of Autism. Also, the different types of tests can help determine in the future

what tests are the most beneficial to the patients and what types of tests they can stop performing

in order to alleviate the unnecessary stress caused by the multitude of tests.

After the continuous referrals,testing, and evaluations the doctor will coordinate with the

parent and the patient on what types of therapies will be best for the patient. Parent and sibling

input also goes a long way in the decision making process of the types of therapy recommended

to the child. Parents and siblings need to tell the doctor how the patient acts at home and in

public, the tendencies of the patient, and how the patient responds to situations. This personal

information,tests results, and evaluation notes give the doctors and therapist a better insight and

vision as to what therapies need to be used. In some extreme cases the patient will need to do all

types of therapy because they show so many signs of Autism that need specific therapy.
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However in most cases doing more than two types of therapies is rarely the outcome and the

most used types of therapies are Occupational and Speech therapy. Occupational therapy is the

most preferred therapy with it being used thirty-nine percent of the time followed closely by

speech therapy which is prefered twenty-seven percent of the time. ( Top 8 Autism Therapies-

Reported by Parents). Along with these two types of therapy, other such therapies, such as ABA,

social classes, Hippotherapy, and Psychiatrist and Psychologist sessions have also been

influential to both the patient and the parent. Therapy goes farther than just the professional

setting like a hospital, working with the child at home can be very influential because the

constant work and help at home can help speed along and increase the process of trying to help

those with Autism.

Along with therapy parents have found that early intervention therapies are extremely

useful and the therapies included under early intervention are winning as a the most preferred

therapies. OT, speech, ABA, and social skills are the most common and found to be the most

influential by parents as well as doctors. The reason these types of therapies is because they

cover such broad range of problems that are the most common in those that have been diagnosed

with Autism. Occupational therapy does the best at covering many different parts of the signs

and symptoms of Autism, Occupational therapy helps with “sensory processing disorder, motor

skill development, social interaction, potty training, sleep training and much more.” ( Top 8

Autism Therapies- Reported by Parents). Also a positive for parents financial-wise is that “early

intervention services tend to be the ones offered to parents by the state and by the public school

systems as they are evidence-based therapies.” ( Top 8 Autism Therapies- Reported by Parents).

Also ABA therapy is often times covered by insurance companies in the states that have

insurance companies cover Autism. However there are some therapies that are not covered and
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cost a lot to parents. One such example is Hippotherapy, Hippotherapy is where an animal is

used to help the child. The most common type of Hippotherapy is horseback riding, the constant

sway and rhythmic movement of the horse walking helps calm the nerves of the patient and gives

them a sense of safety. However this therapy is very expensive to the parent and most parents

who have tried it eventually stop because they can no longer afford the therapy. The therapies

provided by schools or that are covered by insurance are the ones most commonly used and

happen to also be the most effective in helping the children.

Finding the right therapy that fits the budget of the parents and is most useful for the

patient and the parents is the hardest part of the therapy process. Each child is different and has

different areas of help, this is why once a child has a therapist they should stay with that therapist

because the consistency and understanding between the therapist and the patient is extremely

important. Also if the patient is attending an early intervention program at a school and is also

attending therapy sessions the teachers at the school and the therapist need to coordinate with

each other to create consistency. If the way the teachers are working with patient and how they

teach the patient is different than what is being worked on and the therapy sessions then both are

counterproductive. The more the two therapies work together the easier it is on the child and it

will also help the therapeutic process. With similar teachings and constant drilling the child will

develop the necessary skills they are lacking quicker and more efficiently.

Even with all of this information presented doctors, scientist, child care providers, and

parents have barely scratched the surface of learning how to diagnosis and help those with

Autism. Thorough studying of those who have been previously diagnosed with Autism is helping

out tremendously, by observing the tendencies and behaviors of those previously diagnosed

doctors are learning to look for those signs in children. These studies have led doctors to start
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looking for and identifying those with Autism signs and symptoms earlier in life which is very

important, the earlier it is identified the quicker the child can be helped. Some parents think that

the excessive testing and evaluations and screenings is unnecessary but in fact they are probably

the most helpful to doctors and therapists. Once doctors learn what tests show the best results

they will decrease the number of testings and evaluations which in turn relieves the stress it puts

on parents. With the prevalence of Autism increasing in children all over the world the need for

an increased understanding is very important. Along with the doctors and therapist

understanding, parents and siblings at home are extremely helpful in helping those with Autism.

If the children and parents play games, try and include the child into doing normal things,

encouraging the child, and reassuring it helps the child with learning how to do the basic skills

they lack. Those who try and help needs to go even farther than the home or a professional

setting, at school the child should not be ostracized for them being Autistic but instead should be

included and treated like a normal kid but with some care in how one speaks and treats those

with Autism. Autism is growing and our knowledge and our understanding needs to grow so we

as people can be supportive of everyone who struggles with Autism.

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Works Cited

“Autism Spectrum Disorder: Treatment.” American Speech-Language-Hearing Association,

ASHA,

2018, www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589935303§ion=Treatment.

Accessed 28 February 2018

“History .” Autism Society , Autism Society , 2016,

www.autism-society.org/about-the-autism-society/history/. Accessed 28 February 2018

“Screening and Diagnosis .” Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), 26 Feb. 2015,

www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.html.

“Top 8 Autism Therapies- Reported by Parents.” Autism Speaks , Autism Speaks. Inc. , 2018,

www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2012/09/25/top-8-autism-therapies-%E2%80%93-reported

-parents.

Accessed 28 February 2018

“What Is Autism?” Autism Speaks, Autism Speaks, Inc. , 30 May 2012,

www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism. Accessed 28 February 2018

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“What Is Autism?” Autism Types and Definition and Its Affects , Autism Society of America ,

2014,

www.asws.org/WhatisAutism.aspx. Accessed 28 February 2018