Autism

Definition: Autism is a general term for a group of complex disorders of brain development. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviours. In recent times all autism disorders were merged into one umbrella diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Symptoms and Treatment: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are characterized by social-interaction difficulties, communication challenges and a tendency to engage in repetitive behaviors. However, symptoms and their severity vary widely across these three core areas. Taken together, they may result in relatively mild challenges for someone on the high functioning end of the autism spectrum. Each child or adult with autism is unique so, each autism intervention plan should be tailored to address specific needs. Intervention can involve behavioral treatments, medicines or both. Many persons with autism have additional medical conditions such as sleep disturbance, seizures and gastrointestinal (GI) distress. Addressing these conditions can improve attention, learning and related behaviors.

Statistics: Disease statistics in France were resulted as there are numerous examples of reports in which early results conflicted with findings for larger or subsequent samples, autism-specific findings were later found to relate to a wide variety of neurodevelopniental disorders,or between-site differences are as much as tenfold greater than the reported abnormalities (eg, rates of comorbid seizure disorders vary from 6% to 60% ).Of greatest clinical concern, in several instances, new ”therapies“ have been adopted by clinicians before being subjected to adequate trials, with potential harm to the individuals receiving the intervention.