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Jasmin Fanaika
Psychology 1010

18 February 2018
Professor Campbell

Autism in Children
Introduction

There is no kind of blood test or brain scan or any other test that would be able to diagnose
Autism. Although, researchers are looking for a test that can do so, they simply just watch the patient

and rely simply on the behavior of one’s self to diagnose the condition. Statistics show about 1 in

every 68 children are diagnosed with autism in the United States (Autism Speaks,2012,1). The ratio
boys to girls is about 5:1. As you can see it is more common in boys than it is for girls. This paper

will go over more information about how it affects a day to day lifestyle and more information on
children who are diagnosed with such disorder.

Literature Review

Autism is a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in

communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract

concepts. Researchers have come to find that there are many different types of autism and not just

one type. Autism refers to a range of conditions, such as, social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech

and nonverbal communication, and unique strengths and differences. According to an online article

about autism, usually today when people say autism they are typically referring to Autism Spectrum

Disorder or ASD.

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 Studies have shown significant decrease in Purkinje Cells, primarily in the posterolateral

neocerebellar cortex and adjacent archicerebellar cortex of the cerebellar hemispheres (M.L.

Bauman, 2013, 1). Purkinje Cells, also known as Purkinje neurons are typically, neurons in vertebrate

animals located in the cerebellar cortex of the brain. Most Purkinje cells release a neurotransmitter

which exerts inhibitory actions on certain neurons and thereby reduces the transmission of nerve

impulses. This would affect one’s social aspect of life. Because they are left with much fewer

purkinje cells they would opt in tending to themselves and being isolated unless being approached by

someone else.

Autism spectrum disorders are among one of the most heritable of all neuropsychiatric
conditions. However, in more recent studies they have found that ASD involves de novo mutations

which are not passed down but instead arise spontaneously (K.A. Aldinger, 2011, 1). We can all

agree that studies and research have come very far since the first diagnosis of a lot of disorders and

diseases. This includes Autism Disorder and the way of coping life that it has shown today. Back

then, we did not know how to deal with such people who were diagnosed with this disorder and we
tended to hide them without further research. Many years later and we are learning how to cope with

such people and having people who are diagnosed with autistic behavior have better relationships
with their family and friends.
A few facts about autism include,

● An estimated 50,000 teens with autism become adults, and lose school-based autism

services each year.

● Around ⅓ of people with autism remain nonverbal

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● Around ⅓ of people with autism suffer from an intellectual disability.

● Certain medical and mental health issues frequently accompany autism as well as a few

other disorders. (Autism Speaks, 2012, 1)

According to an online article about Autism. Now that it is more aware than before, researchers are

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 According to an online article about Autism. Now that it is more aware than before, researchers are
finding more information everyday and work to find a solution to ASD.

Application
My first cousin has 2 boys that are diagnosed with ASD and also 1 girl who is not. I went about
to ask her questions on what the differences are to raise 2 boys who are diagnosed with the disorder

than her girl who does not have the disorder. She said that on a day to day basis her boys need to
have everything the same. If the day is changed dramatically than her boys will have a meltdown.

She had told me that her oldest is a lot worse than her other boy so she really doesn’t worry about her
younger boy because she knows that he isn’t that bad. She said that Yohannes, her oldest boy, only
likes loose clothes so he always wears sweats and he will always wear a sweatshirt no matter how the

weather is. She also was able to tell me that with an autistic kid, they thrive with everything of
schedule, like I had mentioned before. Yohannes has to do the same thing everyday at the same time.

For example, everyday he wakes up brushes his teeth he gets ready, eats breakfast and then goes to
school. For school it is pretty easy because they have the day planned out so he knows exactly what
he will do for the day. She said that he also will stick to the same food and he won’t ever eat anything

new. They aren’t able to alter the day too much when he’s home either. Every Wednesday they go to
the library and if they were to go any other day he would get upset and cry. They are planning 2 trips

to California at the moment and

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she said that they have been showing him on a calendar the days they are going and how long. They

want to get him prepared as far in advance as possible.

It helps keep her on a set schedule and she tends not to lack as much as she used to. She loves

all her children unconditionally but sometimes her daughter is the one that causes her more grief than
her boys.
I think that it is important to learn more about autistic behavior because you could very well run

into someone who has autism or autistic behavior. My cousin had told me that he likes interacting
with other kids but he will not interact or play with them if they do not approach him first. Otherwise,

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 with other kids but he will not interact or play with them if they do not approach him first. Otherwise,

he will just stick to himself. He is nonverbal and cannot hold a conversation with non autistic kids.
She said that they have never had a problem with him playing with other kids, he actually likes
playing with girls who are on the same spectrum more than the boys. She first found out when he
turned 3, he started to regress and they grew more concerned when he stopped talking and would just

walk around humming. With the early intervention he has been able to thrive better now. Also her
youngest boy is showing less and less signs of autistic behavior as well with the early intervention.
Conclusion
I learned that ASD is more common in boys and they don’t have a certain test to diagnose the
condition. Also found out that one with ASD can function very properly in the world, other than the

nonverbal sense. I would like to know more about how they are working to finding blood tests or
other kind of tests to diagnose the condition other than watching their behavior. Also I would like to
know what they are doing to make ASD less noticible. Learning ASD would
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be helpful for those who get ASD children because it could be randomly as well as interacting with

one who has ASD since it is so common. Understanding one who has ASD you could learn that they
will most likely not approach you or can hold a normal conversation. I feel that if we could learn to
upbring this topic to many researchers we would be able to ultimately find a cure, if not, find a way
to hide ASD so that it isn’t as noticeable in today’s society. As in helping them interact with others,

or teaching them so that they are more verbal as well.

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 Autism

Reference Page

Fatemi, S. Hossein, et al. Cerebellum (London, England), U.S. National Library of Medicine, Sept.
2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3677555/.

“What Is Autism?” Autism Speaks, 30 May 2012, www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism.

“What is Autism?” Autism Science Foundation, autismsciencefoundation.org/what-is-autism/.

Christensen, Jakob, et al. JAMA, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 24 Apr. 2013,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4511955/.

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