Autism is Not Always a Life Sentence

Jason is my nephew, and he grew up with autism. It was very hard on the family to understand why he was the way he was. He reminded me of the energizer bunny I've seen on commercials. He just never stopped. As he became an adult he grew out of this illness. For those who have autistic children, there is hope for a normal life.

What is Autism?

Autism is a type of developmental disorder that falls under the name of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). There are many types of autism. Some children are highly functioning, while others cannot make their needs known.

The characteristics of autism are associated with problems with verbal and nonverbal communication and they usually have an inability to interact with other children and adults. An autistic child may have trouble making eye contact, and he/she may not respond to being addressed by name. They may behave as if they don't know or care about what is going on around them, primarily because they do not understand normal social cues that most children learn by playing together.

It is quite common for an autistic child to find comfort in repetitive activities such as rocking back and forth, or twirling around and around under a light. When my nephew was young he spun around under our dining room chandelier the way a moth flies around a light bulb.

Many children and adults who are autistic refer to themselves in the 3rd person. So instead of saying something like: I want candy, Jason would say, "Jason wants candy". Autistic children may not feel pain as much as a non-autistic child, but they might find certain activities unbearable, such as brushing their hair or giving a hug.

Somewhere around 20 to 30 percent of autistic children develop other conditions such as epilepsy, mental retardation and Tourette syndrome. Many more children who don't have these other conditions may experience a lessening of symptoms as they grow older.

How is Autism diagnosed?

The severity of autism varies with each individual, and the symptoms may be so slight that they go unnoticed. But there are a set of behaviors that are the commonalities with children with autism.

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Children have difficulty making friends
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Children are unable to maintain dialogue with other children and adults
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Children have an inability to use their imaginations in play, such as in "make believe"
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Children may use repetitive language, or speak in a monotone voice or in some peculiar manner.
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Children may focus on one particular object and ignore all other activities going on
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Children may have rituals or specific routines he or she follows

My nephew would count all the toy cars in his toy box over and over. If he thought one was missing he would count again. He would continue to count if he was not satisfied with the number he came up with. There would be no way to redirect him until he was finally satisfied with his counting.

Not all children with autism fall into the same category. A child with some symptoms but not all are diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS); while other children who are highly functioning in language skills may be diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. There are also other autistic disorders that fall under the ASD umbrella.

What causes autism?

It is believed that autism is a genetic disorder, but a specific cause is not known. Researchers have found irregularities in different regions of the brains of children with the disorder, which may have been injuries that happened in utero.

Some autistic children have fewer symptoms as they grow older, and they seem to "grow out of it", and lead normal lives, hold jobs, marry and have children of their own.

What is the treatment?

The symptoms of autism are treated, but there is no cure. Medications and family counseling seem to work well. My nephew grew out of his autistic symptoms. He holds a job, drives a car and lives by himself. He is totally self sufficient in his adult life.