Etiology and the Prognosis of Spectrum Disorder (Research Paper Sample)

Autism Spectrum Disorder
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Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder ASD has been on the rise among young children since the early 1980s. This trend has ever since provoked researchers to determine its main cause among children eighteen and thirty months. Children suffering from this disorder face social difficulties in expressing themselves, either verbally or non-verbally. Other symptoms are difficulty in making friends, as well as being too sensitive to environmental adjustments. To establish if a child is suffering from this disorder, a questionnaire is administered to them by a psychiatrist, a doctor or a speech therapist. Several theories have tried to explain the actual causes of this disorder such as the belief that MMR vaccine is one of the main causes. Other researchers have associated the problem to genetic composition of the affected children. However, there is no substantial evidence that links a certain genetic trait to autism. Environmental factors such as exposing young children to tobacco smoke are believed to play a role. Other causes studied include expose to heavy metals and other environmental pollutants. This essay explains several symptoms as well as autism prognosis and etiology.
Etiology and the Prognosis of Spectrum Disorder
Several studies have been carried out to establish the main cause of autism among children. Most of these theories were later disapproved due to the lack of a direct relationship between the disorder and the believed cause. The theories are discussed in detail below.
The Mumps, Measles and Rubella MMR Theory
This is one of the oldest theories that caused a lot of tension across the world. Introduced in the year 1998 by Wakefield, he conducted an experiment on twelve children to prove the link between MMR and ASD. The theory was later disapproved because it had no scientific backing. Scientists believed that Andrew Wakefield changed most of the children’s previous characters and symptoms. However, this belief survived because children started getting these symptoms after receiving the MMR vaccine (Lord et al., 2018). Because the vaccine is issued at the age of eighteen months, a time at which autism symptoms start to show up are just coincidental. In 1999, the theory was disapproved with three points. 1. The cases of autism did not increase steadily when the MMR vaccine was introduced (Duvekot et al., 2016). 2. Children became autistic at the same age of 18 months irrespective of when they got the vaccine compared to those who missed the vaccine. 3. The number of children with autistic symptoms was equal for those who received the vaccine and those who did not (Lord et al., 2018). To prove a strong correlation between ASD and MMR, then those who had received the vaccine would be significantly more.
Advancing Parental Age
Several studies have linked autism to aged parents. Researchers have cited that there is a higher probability of a child sired by older parents to develop autism compared to those sired by younger couples. Additionally, Whole-Exome Sequencing has directly associated aging fathers to novo mutations that is responsible for autism.
In 2012, a research discovered that kids whose mothers were thirty-five and above were one and a half times more likely to be autistic compared children bone by mothers between twenty-five and twenty-nine years. In a different research, it was revealed that children sired by fathers above the age of forty were 1.8 times likely to show these symptoms compared to those sire by fathers who were twenty-nine years and younger. In the United States, a study involving 1251 children with ASD in 250,000 births revealed a very strong relationship between advancing parental age and autism spectrum disorder (Lord et al., 2018). Irrespective of the age of the parents, the risk of ASD increased with the first born. Generally, the first born has a higher risk of suffering from ASD compared to the second and third born respectively. It was noted that the first born of aged parents was 3.1 times more likely to suffer ASD compared to the first born of a younger parent who was 1.8 times more likely to show autistic symptoms.
Environmental Pollutants
Exposure to environmental pollutants such as gases and heavy metals such as lead are associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Environmental and genetic factors play nearly an equal role. A study conducted in Sweden revealed that 50 percent of all autistic cases resulted from genetic factors while environmental factors contributed to the remainder. The two factors work hand in hand to disrupt the development of the Central Nervous System (Duvekot et al., 2016). This disruption interferes with migration and neuron formation which have the potential to cause ASD. Greenhouse gases resulting from vehicular and industrial emissions also result in development of autism. These pollutants are introduced into the body through inhalation. When puffed, they find their way into the brain. They induce oxidative stress which impairs neurological development resulting in ASD.
Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder
The symptoms of ASD fall in a continuum depending on the severity of the disorder. Some individuals show minor symptoms while in some cases, the symptoms are too extreme such that the victims cannot lead their lives on their own (Duvekot et al., 2016). Some of the symptoms are discussed below.
1 Communication deficits
Individuals with ASD have experience difficulties in communicating with others. For instance, they respond inappropriately during conversations. This beha