Is Autism a Kind of Brain Damage

Many people have different views about autism. Autism may be only one simple word, but with this one word comes many forms in the way it could affect people with this disability. Autism should not be looked down on as much as this disability is from others in society. It may seem as if it has more “cons” than “pros” as some call them, but if looked at from a better perspective, there could be more pros than cons and could be seen in a positive aspect.

There are many reasons as to why it should be better examined. There are many different fields that are involved with this disorder including: causes, effects, challenges, mental issues and types, but these are not the only ones. There are many more out there. Autism should be labeled as more of a disorder rather than a mental illness or disease.

Autism is one label, but there are different types of autism. One type is known as Autism Disorder. This is usually the most common label people hear, but the different types have different severities. This first type has to do with language issues, social and communication issues, and behavioral problems. Another type is known as Asperger Syndrome. This type also has abnormalities similar to the first type, but this one is a less severe version of the disorder. This includes social issues and behavior, but with this one, people do not usually have language issues. The last type of autism is known as Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The severity of this form is less than the typical form of Autism. The issues with the last type will usually only cause social and communication skills. These could all be fixed by treatment by one on one therapy.

Autism also has many different causes; some are unknown and some are still a mystery to be solved. One cause that could be involved with the disorder is involving genetics. Another possible reason could be related to certain environmental factors in certain states. As Anna Mazzucco said, certain geographical areas have a much higher number of people being exposed to autism such as, California, Texas, North Carolina and Utah. An additional reason could be related to sex hormones, medications and some metals could be playing a role in the part of autism in some people. There are many other reasons that are unknown but be playing a role in autism but one last reasoning, not being limited to but could be a controversy out there but would be vaccines and dietary foods such as the gluten in some foods.

With every type of autism come many challenges autistic people have to face everyday in society. One challenge they may face could include mental challenges. Autistic people face these challenges everyday one of which it being, neurological problems. When facing a neurological issue, it can affect many way in the brain functions and these should be less seen as a neurological disorder rather than a physciatric one as discussed by child psychiatrist stated, “Many autistic advocates have worked hard to frame it as a developmental or neurological disorder rather than a psychiatric one”. An additional challenge most autistic people may face could include trying to find a good job for their abilities but even when facing these oppositions, these people could still go out into this world and still be successful in a certain industry or job. Autism should not always affect job opportunities. Communication is also a big part of role playing in a job. With that being said, there are ways that autistic people could still communicate if it is a challenge they have to face, a way they could overcome would be the internet. The internet is a big play in society and especially in jobs as stated above. There are always suitable jobs for everyone and that job could be anything for example, “jobs requiring specific, concrete tasks such as library cataloging, equipment or graphic design, data gathering and mathematical modeling are well-suited to autistics” (Woog). Dan woog stated the idea that certain jobs could be suited for those with autism.

There are other challenges out there including, with jobs some could experience dealing with sensitivity. Sometimes some may become sensitive in certain situations. For example, someone could be working in a room with light shining through a window and it could affect the person but this could be fixed with blinds or such items and still perform the same amount of others in the building. The challenges are not being limited to just the ones discussed above but it could be different with each person. Lastly learning could be a challenge with autistic people and how they interact with others but it could be fixed with help.

Those who have autism should seek help in therapy to help with challenges they will be faced with in life. Not only is there the option of therapy, but there are other ways to get find treatments. Autism could be treated with medication or therapy so it is not as much as a mental illness as it seems if these options are available to help them seem more of a not to “special” person in society. If others are not choosing to take this path then those with autistic abilities should just be embraced as if they were like people without these challenges in life. As someone said, “For many children, symptoms improve with age and behavioral treatment” (author unknown). This statement shows that symptoms can improve over time and those with autism should not be see as a lost cause in this world. In the end, helping those with Autism is usually always successful when working with those individuals over periods of time.

Autism also has societal factors, including the way society views Autism, how the work production is viewed, how they could still be good workers and the signs that are shown when those individual act in society in some situations. For example, as David Rettew, a child psychiatrist said, that one type of Autism known as Aspergers should not be called a mental illness and should be viewed as more of a neurotypical description of Autism. Also there could be issues in the environment that could cause Autism or also by diet. These could affect the symptoms and make them more noticeable but they could still be treated and seen in a better way or form.

Those with Autism should be brought up and supported. Every person who has this disability, has their different needs. For example, teachers may see that one of the students has a form of Autism but they should be cared for and treated as one of the other students. Even though they should be treated like the other students, teachers and others who are present in the classroom should taken into consideration that those students should be supported and treated with patience and kindness. The Autistic students may also need additional support in learning in the classroom. With additional support, in some cases, students may need to be transferred into a smaller class with a less amount of students.

Teachers can also do other things to help those students in class. Teachers should not view those students as useless and have no patience with the students. Those with Autism have a lot of potential. Technology is one way that could help. Technology could be used to further the education and could help them overcome their disability. Therefore this is a reason as to why Autism should be leaning towards more of a disability rather than calling it an illness.

Autism can also come with different sensory difficulties. Some impairments can include, auditory, visual, tactile, taste, smell and other proprioceptive senses. The Autistic brain is different from the brain from one who does not have autism. With the auditory difficulties involved with autism is often inner ear deficiency which creates issues with hearing and being able to recognize speech. As Clason said, these can often contribute to sound issues. Autistic people are sensitive to certain frequencies of sound and volume. Some could also not react like they should with some sounds. They do not respond to some noises due to the impairment of hearing. Noise cancellation headphones are often used under lound circumstances to help those with autism. Since autism has to do with the function of the brain and how it is off, this could also affect vision.

Food could also be an issue with autism. Some studies have shown that when removing certain foods from a diet with one who has autism, have created major changes. In some cases, food containing gluten or wheat can often lead to an inflamed stomach but when removing this ingredient, it has seemed to help with the inflammatory and pain issues. Oftentimes seizures could play a role in autism and changing dietary intake could also be a solution. Diets with less fat would be better nutritional diet. Vitamins are also a key factor to maintain healthy brain stimulations. 

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