Research Paper on Autism Spectrum Disorder: Challenges in Communication and Social Engagement

Introduction

It has occurred in the lives of most of us that we have encountered with a person that had a challenge in communication and social engagement. For those that may not have met people with the disorder, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2019), autism is a disorder that affects both children and adults causing difficulties with their communication and social skills. In full, the disease is known as autism spectrum disorder. The fact that man is a social being the patients are not social makes the patients out of place. Since the disorder is not common to most people, the patients should not be allowed to stay in solitude. The information is not only based on the research that I have conducted regarding the disorder, but I also have a friend that suffers from the disease. Today my objective is to discuss what autism spectrum disorder is, causes, symptoms, and how we can take care of the people suffering from the disease.

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Since we already have identified what autism spectrum disorder is, the next step is to know about the disease and identify the signs. Once a person is aware that they are suffering from the disease, the sighs that they experience are not similar to those of the other person. The problems can either be severe or mild. The disorder is characterized by a concentration on one thing, and does not accept change, are not able to make friends, and others do not talk at all. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2019), a person knows that they have autism disorder if they experience challenges in communication, social behavior, and necessary skills, the people may not want to change their diet, and they may have difficulties in writing, walking or running.

Now that we know the signs and general information of the disorder, the next vital information that we need to know what causes autism. According to Nall (2018), autism may be caused by gene mutation and also inheritance, in a case of twins due to close relation if one happens to suffer from autism the other one also has a high likelihood of suffering from autism and finally environmental factors also contribute. There have been misconceptions like vaccines causing autism which are not valid. In treating autism disorder, there is no specific method that has been stipulated since people have different symptoms. The primary remedy is therapies to help the patients handle the issues. However, there are problems like epilepsy and depression related to autism and requires medication for treatment. Through interventions like Occupational Therapy and applied behavior analysis and speech therapy, autism patients can acquire help in dealing with the disease. The sad thing is that there is no cure for autism.

Conclusion

As we have all heard from the discussion, autism is a condition that requires attention, especially with the children. The signs mostly revolve around anti-social behavior and resistance to change. In case there are other complications, then medical care should be sought. There are essential things to help the patients not suffer more than they already have by ensuring that they do not stay secluded. The most important thing is how patients are treated.

Works Cited

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Autism: Autism Spectrum Disorder. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/autism/

Nall R. What to Know about autism. Medical News Today Newsletter. 2018. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323758.php