Autism Speaks

I have chosen this topic because working with my kids at my job, I have learned that Autism is huge. There is this one boy in my group who has it and he is the most happy little man ever. He doesn't care what people think, he does his own thing and will enjoy anything. He is so full of life and I love being around him. We have a game between us, I will go up to him and say "BOO", and he will scream in a joking matter and run away, after like 5 minutes he comes to me and says "BOO I scared you"! As you can see, he's so full of like and loves to have fun. He's the reason why I want to learn more about this disorder. This is a picture with the boy I was talking about, we go on field trips with my group and he enjoys them so much, I love taking him places. I picked this picture only to not show his face.


Autism is defined as a developmental disorder which appears in the first 3 years of a childs life and also affects the brains normal developmental to social and communication skills. The most common person to get Autism is more found in boys. As you can Autism affects the temporal lobe as well other parts of the brain. This is what makes it hard for a child to interact with other children and to learn communication and social skills.


Symptoms can be hard to recognize but with early detection it can be treated the right way. Children with Autism usually have symptoms including they don't know how to use pretend play, they have trouble interacting in social settings, and their verbal and communication skills are delayed. Parent's usually notice this at 18 months old and seek help when the child is 2. With early treatment the child can usually grow with somewhat a "normal" life.

In February of 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued their report on ADDM autism report. They concluded that 8 year olds in 2000-2002 that autism had risen from 1 to 150 in children and 1 in 94 boys had it. About 1.5 million people are living with autism. Although there are treatments for autism, there is no single cure for it. Children with it don't outgrow it, but with early treatment, their outcomes are good. With the right sources people with autism can lead healthy and meaningful lives. I know a teacher who is going to the state house to speak for autism. She has a son who has it, but her son, the way she talks about him sounds amazing. She tells, "you wouldn't think he has autism", and it's true, a lot of boys with autism don't seem like it because they had treatment early. "Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Studies suggest boys are more likely than girls to develop autism and receive the diagnosis three to four times more frequently. Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 94 boys is diagnosed with autism" (www.autismspeaks.com). I've always wondered, why it was always common more in boys. It's a puzzling question, and no one really knows why. There isn't a clue to what causes Autism. There are such different levels and combinations of symptoms of Autism making multiple cases.


Autism has risen in America, and kids with it, I'm always left thinking, "I wonder goes through their minds". I think they are amazing and their parents are awesome in helping their children through it. There is this little girl who I also work with who has autism, she's the cutest little 5-6 year old. I'm not quite sure how serious hers is, but she can do sign language! When you do it back she understands. She's the type that shows smartness, she knows exactly what to do on the computer! It's amazing to watch her on the computer because she's fast at learning at what to do. The little boy I know has aspergers, and he uses a lincoln log to keep himself amused and content. He will spin it around and just use it for hours, and it's so interesting to watch him. He always has a smile on his face. Working with kids with autism or any form of it is such a good experience because for teachers, they have to know how autism works and all that stuff, they need to be prepared if they get a child with autism. I'm glad that I have been exposed to it early because I know what to expect, and the kids without it, I will teach them that they are different but they are still human and still learn, they just learn differently.

We can't ignore it because it has such a high percentage among our children and with right treatments our children can grow up with a healthy and stable environment.


www.google.com/health
www.autismspeaks.org
www.autismsocietyofamerica.org