Showing posts with label Causes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Causes. Show all posts

An Enigma Called Autism - Its Causes and Cures

The human brain is so complex that man is incapable of deciphering the intricate way it is wired around. A minuscule disorder in the brain renders him incapable of normal behavior, leading scientists and researchers to give it several names like autism, the Asperger's syndrome, multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia etc., based on varying degrees of brain disorders.

Millions of dollars have been spent on research and diagnosis, but autism still remains a puzzle and an enigma because the autism spectrum covers diverse forms, ranging from acute behavioral, social and communication disorders to violent mood swings, hypertension coupled with precocious talents and high-functioning skills, on account of which it is hard to understand the root causes.

Cause for autism is mostly genetic and is sourced from the human brain, which scientists have been unable to conclusively prove otherwise. There is wide speculation about geeks who are brilliant tech people to be 'on the autistic spectrum' as they usually appear to lack social niceties, like Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, the stereotypical geek, who appears unmoved by his girlfriend's obvious frustration with his obsessive personality.

Heritability is another cause, when one of the parents is autistic, there is a risk of siring an autistic child though it is not clear which genes could be responsible. Complicated childbirths, like a messed up forceps delivery, is also considered responsible in rare cases. In recent studies, the MMR vaccine has been linked to the cause of autism though there has been no scientific evidence of the same, although it is a cause of great concern that autism in the US has increased to colossal proportions.

Whatever may be the case, if a child is diagnosed early with autism there are many proven physio, phycho and socio therapies that can be effectively applied, to help children lead fulfilling lives free of social stigma. Autistic children interact differently that may appear awkward, clumsy or even offensive. They avoid eye contact and appear lost in a world of their own.

Timely and appropriate therapies can do wonders to their disposition and behavior, as well as develop their motor skills. There are a range of treatments, to name a few are music, drama and art therapy, that is creative and fun-filled. Occupational, Speech-language and Behavior therapy to treat specific symptoms, Development therapies and the Tomatis Auditory therapy that uses an 'electronic ear' in order to stimulates the brain-ear-voice connecting sensors. These therapies help autistic children to follow social norms that are considered important in a regular world, as well as show them ways of expunging their feelings, whether violent or otherwise.

To know more about these therapies and select the best option for your child, visit my blog http://childmotorskills.blogspot.com/


Original article

What Are Some Post Birth Causes of Autism?

About 1:110 births results in a child who has autism. There is no one cause that anyone can agree on. There are many theories. Some of them have been disproven, others warrant further study. There are some theories that autism has solely prenatal cause, some say that it is exclusively postnatal, and yet others are that it is a combination of things.

One of the most prevalent theories in the past, and one that has been disproven many times, is the theory of the refrigerator mother. This theory said that autism was linked to childhood trauma, through bad parenting, specifically bad mothering. The mother was supposed to have withheld her affection from the child, thus being like a refrigerator. This theory was advanced by Bruno Bettleheim, and was disproven after his death.

There are three theories that actually belong in the class. That is that autism is caused by environmental causes like vaccines, thiomersal or the MMR vaccine. Thiomersal was an additive to vaccines that was phased out in the US in the 1990s. The MMR vaccine is a frequently accused culprit, although many proponents of these theories blame vaccines all together. There are a number of reasons that these three things have gotten the blame. One is that autism really starts to become apparent around 18-24 months old. Between 12-24 months old children get several vaccinations. There is a correlation there, but correlation doesn't equal causation. Another reason that this theory exists is because a British scientist said that he had proof that the MMR vaccine and thiomersal caused autism. His theory had followers, but there was no clear consensus. It has recently come out that he lied about his data to "prove" his theory. Most autism researchers say there is no link between these things and autism, but there are some, especially parents, who hang on to this theory.

Since autism is primarily about the connections in the brain being made in different ways, or not at all, another theory gaining popularity is that it is caused by an autoimmune disease. An autoimmune disease attacks the body itself. In this theory the immune disease attacks the brain. The causes could be viral infection at birth, or shortly thereafter, that causes the immune system to go wild and start attacking the body. The results that have been coming from studies based around this subject don't agree with each other.

Some hypotheses haven't had any study, or no significant study, even though they have followers. One is that autism is caused by vitamin D deficiency. Another is that autism is caused by excessive hygiene. That means that the child's environment is so clean that there in no exposure to anything, and that leads to autism.

There is one theory to autism. The most commonly accepted theories all agree that the cause might push a child who is already disposed to having autism into having full blown autism. There is plenty of continuing research into the suggested causes of autism, as well as cures or better treatments for people who have autism.

Get more information about non-invasive, alternative autism treatments at the Life Vessel of the Rockies.


Original article

Some Possible Prenatal Causes of Autism

Autism is on the rise. Today the risk of having a child with autism stands at about 1:110. No one is sure if it is on the rise because of better diagnosis procedures or because of more children being diagnosed. Whatever the reason, it stands that you are more likely to have a child with autism, or know a child of autism than ever before.

While scientists haven't been able to pin down one precise cause of autism, there are several things which occur prenatally which may cause autism. It has also been found that there is a strong genetic element to autism. Studies have found that the chances for a child to have autism increases if there is a sibling or other close blood relative with autism.

None of the prenatal causes for autism have been proven 100% to be a cause of autism, but there is significant information to show that they are linked to autism.

One of those things is parental age. The age of the parents when the child is born has a direct impact on the risk of the child of having autism. It isn't sure yet if it is both parents, or just the mother or father. The reasons for this aren't clear. It could be because or increased complications as a parent gets older, as well as risks of mutations. Unlike other issues where maternal age matters more, in this case paternal age factors in more.

One potential prenatal causes of autism include some viral infections that the mother might have while pregnant. This is because the illness can cause the mother's immune system to go into overdrive. As her immune system goes crazy it can attack the foreign cells baby's body. Congenital rubella syndrome is the most common infection. Rubella, or German measles, is also linked to other things like schizophrenia, as well as blindness and deafness in babies.

There are other environmental things that could cause autism and birth defects. Those things are called teratogens. Some of them a woman has control of, others are beyond control. There are several studies exploring alcohol as one of the causes of autism, as well finding out if it's related to birth defects like fetal alcohol syndrome.

Women who are surrounded by specific chemicals that are found in pesticides have been found to have a higher incidence of autism in their families. In families where there is already a genetic element the chances that a child with end up with autism because of exposure to pesticides and fertilizers increase dramatically.

There are a lot of theories behind what causes autism. These theories are the ones that have the most agreement in the scientific community. There are some others that have been put out there, but not a lot of people are doing studies or believe that they are a significant cause. One of those is fetal exposure to ultrasound. There have been studies that have linked neuron disruption in mice with prolonged exposure to ultrasound. However, there hasn't been any significant human studies done on this subject.

There is no one agreed on cause of autism, but there are many things that can happen prior to birth that can push a child with a predisposition to it into having autism.

Get more information about non-invasive, mild autism treatments at the Life Vessel of the Rockies and see how they can make a difference.


Original article