Autism Causes and Treatment
Early Signs of Autism, Treatment and Applied Behavior Analysis
Learn more about Autism Spectrum Disorder, what are the possible causes, how it affects lives, and ways to treat it and manage the symptoms.
What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is a lifelong disorder with no known cause or cure that affects one in 150 children in North America, and diagnosis rates are steadily rising. A complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life, it affects a person’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Medical experts are limited as to how to prevent or treat it, because the disorder inhibits the ability to communicate or develop social relationships. Signs to look for in the children in your life include:
- Lack of or delay in spoken language
- Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
- Little or no eye contact
- Lack of interest in peer relationships
- Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
- Persistent fixation on parts of objects
What Causes Autism?
There is no known single cause for autism, but it is linked to abnormalities in brain structure or function, neurological differences, genetics, immune system and birth complications. Causal research indicates that other factors besides the genetics are contributing to the rise in occurrences of ASD, such as environmental toxins (e.g., heavy metals such as mercury), which are more prevalent in our current environment than in the past. Many children with autism or who are at risk of developing autism have a metabolic impairment that reduces their ability to rid their bodies of heavy metals and other toxins. Build-up of these toxins in the body can lead to brain and nervous system damage and developmental delays.
How Does It Affect Their Lives?
Living with autism is possible, but not easy. Common behavioral challenges include difficulty with social interactions and relationships, aloofness and indifference to other people. They may not speak or understand what is said to them, understand facial expressions or gestures or a tone of voice in the way intended by another person, and may also take things literally. They often have no acceptable ways of letting other people know what they want or what is the matter with them, and are unlikely to play imaginative games with other children, having a rigid way of thinking using toys without imagination preferring always to handle them in obsessive or repetitive ways. Autistic patients also display a general resistance to change of environment, places, routines and people.
Is There Treatment?
Autism is treatable. Children do not outgrow autism, but studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes. Applied Behavior Analysis, or ABA, has received much publicity recently, but Dr. Ivar Lovaas first applied the theory in 1987. It is said to be the most comprehensive and effective way for patients and their families to cope with autism. Goals are broken down into the smallest task possible and taught over and over again. Patients are rewarded with their favourite snacks when they type, but this exchange must be repeated each time to increase and maintain the behaviour.
Managing Problematic Behavior
ABA provides methods for managing problematic and aberrant behavior that is self-injurious, ritualistic, repetitive, aggressive and disruptive by teaching alternative pro-social behavior. The ABA system is based on behaviorist theories, where the general idea is that behavior can be taught through a system of rewards and consequences. Many children, if not most, who receive ABA training learn to behave appropriately at least some of the time, and some even lose their autistic diagnosis after years of intensive therapy. ABA offers autistic patients an opportunity to learn how to communicate, enabling them to give doctors, friends and family a better chance at helping them, giving them insight on the disorder and what it is like for them to live with it.
