The Early Origins of Autism- Patricia Rodier

Ridier (2000), in her article, notes that Autism is one of the disorder has challenged
scholar and scientist for the last five decades as the disorder encompasses a wide range of
signs and symptoms. Notably, most of the sign develop in early childhood before children
turn three years. Ridier agree that the impact of the disorder is usually very debilitating as the
children affected do not have the ability to interpret their emotion and that of others and as a
result they fail to recognize sorrow, anger, and manipulative intent. I agree with Ridier
assertion that it is usually difficult to include children with autism in a classroom set up as it
is rather difficult to control their behavior.
Though Ridier gives a wide array of information on Autism in children, Ridier is
much interested in the accrued source of the disorder. She notes that for a long time there has
been a scientific gap in pinpointing the actual source of autism. Initially, there was suggestion
that the source of the disorder was late gestation and the early postnatal life, but there was
limited available that could associated with the postulation. However, with the discovery a
possible link between the disorder and thalidomide gave a new direction to the scientists.
Ridier notes that the discovery pinned the origin of autism to the early weeks of pregnancy a
period when the nervous system and the brain are starting to develop. She is convinced that
with the current discoveries the mystery of autism that has eluded the scientist for a long time
will soon be solved.
After making these deductions, Ridier reverts the embryology of autism, and she
asserts that there are several environmental factors that have been linked with the origin of
autism. However, she notes that not many factors can be linked with the current high number
of cases of children with the disorder. Researchers have failed to understand how the several

factors that have been linked to the disorder combine to result in the disorder. This variation
makes the search for the accrued cause of autism rather difficult.
Ridier defends her position on the support of the discovery of link between
thalidomide by asserting that it provides an opportunity for research to gradually track the
source of autism. Notably, since the scientists in this field have a clear understanding of each
stage of the embryo development, they can be able to pinpoint the exact date of onset of
autism.
Causes of Autism and Effective Interventions – Indu Joshi, Maire Percy, and Ivan
Brown
Joshi, Percy, & Brown, (2002) in their article explore the accrued aberration
mechanisms that are linked with autism which turned out to be an exciting challenge to many
researchers. The article also reviews some of the recent development in understanding the
actual cause of the disorder and its possible treatment approaches. The authors agree that
since the disorder was discovered there have been multiple polemics on the actual cause of
autism. Initially, there was an assumption that the central cause was bad parenting. However,
the authors distance themselves from this suggestion, and they agree with the notion that the
associated signs and symptoms of the disorder are as a result of a behavioral response to and
disease affecting the brains of the children. They assert that the disorder is a multifaceted
developmental syndrome which illuminates a cluster of disorders that are heterogeneous and
which display similar symptoms but varied biological mechanism.
The authors review the currently available research on autism, and they agree that
there has been an incredible advancement in research with the objective of understanding and
deduce the multi-causal of the disorder in children. To demonstrate their position, they isolate
the developments that indicate that autism has causes that can be prevented. For instance,

autism is linked to CRI, but since now women can be immunized against this infection the
prevalence of disorder can be reduced. In another scenario of preventable cause of the
disorder is PKU which is a situation where phenylalanine cannot be properly produced.
Today, there are programs for infant screening that can detect the problem and thus it can be
controlled. The authors also explore the prevalence of the disorder, and they note that it is
mainly quoted to be 3-5 in 10,000. They disagree with the figure by asserting that it relatively
low as there are other researchers that indicate a higher figure. They link the variation of the
figure to various factors such as the diagnostic techniques for the disorder and a variation of
awareness from one place to another.

Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes—a review- Helen V. Ratajczak

Ratajczak (2011), in her article, conduct a theoretical review of autism to report on the
causes which is one of the disorder that has largely reduced the quality of life of many
children. She notes that the disorder is a developmental disorder that results in impaired
social relations, communication, and repetitive behavior. She categorizes the causes of the
disorder into environmental, genetic and immunological factors. Ratajczak notes that though
autism is largely known as a brain disorder, some scholars have extended their perception and
view and have labeled it as a multisystem metabolic disease. The impact of the disorder on
the patient is usually severe, and long term and more than 70% of the patient are
institutionalized.
Ratajczak also takes a review on the prevalence and incidence of the disorder, and she
notes that the prevalence ranged from 1-21/10000 with the medium value been 5/10000. She
agrees with the notion that the incidences of the disorder have increased in an epidemic rate.
She notes that the situation might be even worse than it is currently perceived as there is no

specific marker for the diagnosis of the disorder has been found to be completely reliable.
Their reliability varies in age, sex, and control.

Creating appropriate environment for young children

Based on the research above, autism is a life time disease whose cure has eluded
scientist for a long time. Therefore, creating an appropriate become a fundamental
requirement of the caregivers of children with the disorder. Each child with autism has
specific requirements and needs and there is a no a single set of instructions that can be
provided to the caregivers for effective care of the children. However, there various basic
principles that are fundamental in creating a serene environment for the children. The
environment should be safe, peaceful and stimulated. Many scholars have found home
schooling to be the best approach of caring and teaching children with autism as in this
environment they can be able to receive optimal care, attention and love. On the other hand,
the approach provides flexible schedule which optimal time for learning.

Reflection

Based on the above articles, it is evident that much has been done in trying to combat
autism. However, the efforts have proved not be enough as the prevalence of the disorder
continues to increase at an alarming rate. The central reason while scientists have found it
rather difficult to understand and control the disorder is that its cause and symptoms are
multifaceted. However, more developments are still been made, and various preventable
causes have been noted. There the need to invest more in understanding the cause of the
disorder as this will play a central role in understanding how to manage it.

References

Joshi, I., Percy, M., & Brown, I. (2002). Advances in understanding causes of autism and
effective interventions. Journal on developmental disabilities, 9(2), 1-27.
Ratajczak, H. V. (2011). Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes—A review. Journal of
immunotoxicology, 8(1), 68-79.
Rodier, P. M. (2000). The early origins of autism. Scientific American, 282(2), 56-63.