Why more children are being diagnosed with autism
A teacher engages an autistic child.
What you need to know:
- Autism spectrum disorder affects about one in 100 children, according to World Health organization.
- There is no known cause, but it is thought to develop as a result of an interaction between genetic and environmental factors.
D |
ear doctor,
What causes autism? How come these days there are so many children diagnosed with the disorder? Henry
Dear Henry,
Autism spectrum disorder is a group of disorders that develop due to changes in how the brain develops. It affects how a person communicates, interacts, behaves and learns. It is called a spectrum because individuals with autism have different symptoms, and the changes over time are also different. For example, some children may have noticeable symptoms from below 12 months, while some may develop normally for the first 18 to 24 months then stop learning new skills or lose some that they had learnt, while for some, symptoms may begin to show when they are over 24 months old. For some individuals, the symptoms improve over time. Some may have a good ability to have a conversation, some may struggle, while some may be completely non-verbal. Some individuals with autism may be able to manage themselves and live independently, while some may need to be assisted throughout their life.
The symptoms of autism are:
a) Challenges with communication and social interaction. This may be in terms of poor eye contact, poor response to someone trying to get their attention, including response to one’s name or look like there is no interest in looking at or listening to someone talking to them. The individual may have challenges with back and forth conversation, have a flat or sing-song tone of voice or have facial expressions or gestures that do not correspond to the conversation. Children have challenges with imaginative play and making friends. The person may experience challenges with understanding different points of view or understanding/predicting other people’s actions or they may talk about one subject for long without giving others an opportunity to speak or noticing other people’s lack of interest and may have challenges with changing behaviour to accommodate changing social situations. b) Repetitive behaviours – this may be excessive repetition of certain behaviours, or repeating words and phrases (echolalia). The individual may also show excessive interest in one thing, or they may have a lasting interest in a specific subject. The individual may also be rigid in changing routines and has difficulty adjusting to change.
c) The person with autism may be more or less sensitive to input from the different senses such as light, sound and touch.
d) The individual may have sleep problems. e) Individuals with autism may be irritable in certain situations and in a few, this may be expressed in tantrums and harmful behaviour including self-harm (such as hitting the head against a wall)
f) Individuals with autism are strong visual and auditory learners and can learn a lot of details about the subject matter of their interest
g) These symptoms affect their ability to function in one or more areas of life such as school, work, home, and other areas.
Autism spectrum disorder affects about one in 100 children, according to World Health organization. There is no known cause, but it is thought to develop as a result of an interaction between genetic and environmental factors. There is a higher risk of a child developing autism if there is presence of other genetic disorders (like fragile X syndrome), or if there is another sibling with autism, or if the parents are older in age, or if the child had very low birth weight. It may seem that there are more people being diagnosed with autism now than before. This is because the definition of autism has expanded to include more disorders within the spectrum, and there has been more awareness and more screening efforts to diagnose it. There has also been increased screening in females and adults, which was previously not the case. In addition, there’s better survival of babies born pre-term, and there is an increase in the number of people giving birth at an older age.
Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is usually done by a team of health care providers after assessment of a child’s abilities and challenges, and getting input from the caregivers and teacher(s). The child should also be assessed for other medical conditions and learning challenges, including tests for hearing. Older children and adults can also be assessed for autism spectrum disorder.
Management of autism spectrum disorder is mainly behavioural and educational and is targeted at improving communication and social skills, controlling behaviour, learning life skills and building on strengths. For some individuals, the symptoms of the disorder may improve over time. Medical treatment may be helpful for specific symptoms like repetitive behaviour, irritability, aggression, hyperactivity and anxiety. Other interventions are tailored to the individual such as occupational therapy, speech therapy and sensory integration therapy.
Dear doctor,
I have been having a headache on and off for the past one week. Could I be having meningitis? My neighbour was treated for the same a few weeks ago. Carol
Dear Carol,
Most people will get a headache at some point or other, and there are many possible triggers. These may include fatigue, stress, dehydration, hunger, light exposure, noise, poor sleep, poor posture, hormonal changes, air pollution, excessive alcohol intake, among others. The headache may also be due to an underlying problem, and unfortunately almost all disease and conditions may trigger a headache. In most cases, headaches resolve on their own or with pain killers, and addressing any underlying problems. Danger signs that require urgent intervention include high fever, stiff neck, slurring of speech, limb weakness, vomiting, confusion, seizures or loss of consciousness. Meningitis refers to inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord (the meninges). It occurs mostly due to infection, but it can also be due to chemical irritation. It can cause severe headache, fever, stiff neck, nausea or vomiting, light sensitivity, confusion and seizures. Meningitis is a serious condition and requires immediate medical attention that includes admission, intravenous medication and other treatments.
