Friday, April 24, 2009

Neurological - Autism


Disease/Disorder: Autism

Common Name: Autism

Age of Onset: Autism is present at birth and sympoms of the coundition are typically evident before the child reaches the age of three

Duration: Autism is chronic, so a person with Autism has no cure and must live with the disease their whole life

Commonness: Autism affects an estimated 10 to 20 of every 10,000 people. It is about 4 times more common in boys as in girls

Cause: The cause of Autism is not fully known, but scientists believe the coundition to be caused genetics, certain types of infections, and other problems occurring at birth

Symptoms:
  • Inability to participate in a conversationDifficulty with non-verbal communication (gestures and facial expressions)
  • Difficulty with verbal communication (problems using and understanding language)
  • Difficulty with social interaction (relating to people and to his or her surroundings)
  • Inability to make friends and preferring to play alone
  • Unusual ways of playing with toys (as only lining them up a certain way)
  • Preoccupation with unusual objects or parts of objects
  • Repetitive body movements, or patterns of behavior
  • Lack of imagination


Prognosis: Autistic patients have problems with social interaction, imagination, and communication. Autistic children have a limited range of interests, and almost 75% have mental retardation. In many cases, autistics children are unable to form emotional bonds with their parents or other family members.
Sources:

WebMD

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