Many of the people in my family have been effected in one way or another by the devastating disease known as Autism. In the United States Autism is on the rise, statistics show that in 2010 there were 1 in 7 children that had been diagnosed across the spectrum. What exactly is Autism and how is it diagnosed? How do you know if your child is showing the beginning sign of Autism? How does Autism affect the child and their family members, and what are some of the different spectrums of Autism? And finally what are the treatments? According to the Genetic Literacy Project, the number of children that have been diagnosed with autism has skyrocketed in the past few decades. In the 1980s, about 1 out of every 2,000 children born in the United States was diagnosed with autism. The center for disease and prevention estimates that 1 in 150 8 year-olds in the United States has autism (www.geneticliteracyproject.org). According to the article Autism Speaks, studies have shown boys are four to five times more likely to have autism than girls. An estimated 1 out of 43 boys and 1 in every 189 girls are diagnosed with autism in the United States. Autism affects over 3 million individuals in the United States, ten million worldwide. Government autism statistics suggest that prevalence rate have increased 10 to 17 percent annually in recent years. There is no explanation for this continuing increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental issues are usually the two reasons that are consider (www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism). According to The National Autism Association, the rate of autism has steadily grown over the last twenty years. Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder, yet most underfunded. There currently no known cures for autism yet, but there are early interventions and treatments. Some of the symptoms related to autism can be greatly improved and in some cases completely overcome. About 40% of children with autism don't talk. About 25%-30% of children have some words at twelve to eighteen months and then they lose them. Autism varies from person to person. No two people with autism are alike. Autism does not affect life expectancy. Research has shown that the mortality risk among individuals with autism is twice as high as the general population, in large part due to drowning and other accidents not the disease itself. (www.nationalautismassociation.org). According to Autism Society, 35 percent of young adults ages 19- 23 with autism have not had a job or received postgraduate education after high school. It costs more than $8,600 extra per year to educate a student with autism. In June 2014 12.9 percent were unemployed, and only 16.8 percent of the population with disabilities were employed. (http://www.autism-society.org/). Autism is a spectrum disorder. (ASD) refers a group of complex neurodevelopment disorders of the brain development. Autism is characterized in varying degrees, by repetitive and characteristic patterns of behavior and difficulties in social communication and interaction. One of the first symptoms/signs of autism is verbal and nonverbal communications. ASD can be associated with intellectual disability, motor coordination and attention to physical health issues such as gastrointestinal and sleep disturbances. Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of communication skills and also cognitive functions and social interaction. In some cases some of the kids have difficulties with leisure or play activities and social interaction . People with autism often have a lot of comorbid medical conditions that may include, Asthma, Epilepsy, digestive disorders, feeding disorders and also sleeping disorders, sensory integration dysfunction, and more. (www.nationalautismassociation.org ). In some cases Children and adults with autism are able to perform basic activities of daily living while others may need substantial support to perform basic activities. They also may engage in repetitive movement or unusual behaviors such rocking back and forth, or twirling. They may become preoccupied with parts of objects like the wheel on a toy truck. Some kid might be obsessively interested in a particular topic such as airplanes or even memorizing the train schedule. Many people with ADS thrive on routines. If you change their daily patterns, like making usual stops on the way home from school, can be very challenging. Some children may get angry or have emotional outbursts, more likely at new places or overly stimulating environments. Some common signs of autism is no eye contact, no big warm smiles or any other joyful expression by six months, not responding to their name by twelve months and not pointing at objects showing interest by fourteen months. Children with Autism have delay in their speech or language, get upset with minor changes and sometimes can be very organized. They also might have to follow certain routines. Some kids show aggression and may be very violent at a young age. Some children want to be left alone. Some give unusual reactions to the way things sound, taste, smell, look, and feel. Kids with autism do not want to play “pretend” games. They have a hard time explaining their feelings to others and it is hard for them to see others feelings as well and so do not show empathy. They also might become over focused on certain objects or fails to engage in typical conversation with their parents (http://nationalautismassociation.org ).How is ADS diagnosed? The symptoms vary from person to person. some symptoms are more severe than others. Some symptoms go unrecognized for young children who may have mid ADS or a less debilitating handicap. Early indicators that require evaluation by an expert are no babbling or pointing by the age of one. No single words by the age of sixteen months or two- word phrase by the age of two. They don't respond to their name. Loss of language or social skills previously acquired. Poor eye contact, excessive lining up toys and objects, no smiling or social responsiveness. There can also be later Indicators that show up later down the road. Things you should keep your eye out for is impaired ability to make friends with peers. Impaired ability to initiate or sustain conversation with others, absence it impairment of imaginative and social play, repetitive or unusual use of language, abnormally intense or focused interest, preoccupation with certain objects or subjects and also inflexible adherence to specific routines or rituals. Health care providers will usually use a questionnaire or other screening instruments to gather information about your child's development and behavior. Some screenings rely solely on parents observations, while others rely on a combination of parents and the doctors observations (. Do the symptoms of autism change over time? For many children, symptoms improve with age and behavioral treatments, some kids might get depressed or experience behavioral problems. Thier treatment might need some modifications as they transition into adulthood. Usually people with ASD continue to need services and support as they get older. It just depends on the severity of the disorder. Some people that have autism work successfully and live on their own or with a supportive environment. (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/autism.htm). How does caring for an autistic child affect the parents and siblings? A child's diagnosis affect every family member of the family in all different ways. Parents must focus on helping their child with autism. Caring for an autistic child or young adult can get very tricky and have a tremendous emotional, financial and physical strain. Most parents feel like they are getting judged by other families and also others in the community. Some parents even feel guilty that their child is missing out on something or that they are not being able to make friends like other children. For some families at least one parent cannot work and sometime families occasionally break up do to the stress of living with someone with autism, which puts a massive financial burden on them. Often people that have autism have disturbed sleep patterns and they need constant supervision. Some parents become isolated and even become depressed and maybe reach a breaking point without help. As they grow up, the children become too strong to handle if they are throw a tantrum. The impact of having autism for an individual means that they are often experience failure in school, social and work situation, this leads lack of confidence and low self-esteem. This might lead to high anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Some siblings also may suffer from being in a very stressful environment, unable to socialise because of the difficulties at home and that they can't go out as a family. Some kids need some time from their autistic brother or sister to enjoy any kind of fun activities and social experiences as their peer.Some become carers for their autistic sibling is an effort to help their parents. (http://www.autismbedfordshire.net ). Kids with autism make it more of a challenge to do such things as vacations. They can become more of a challenge and seemingly impossible for families with an autistic child. People with an autistic child should think through what can be done to make the trip more comfortable for them and it might just be more challenging to do, especially things like airplanes. How do you describe “autism” to a typical child, let’s say a sibling or to a classmate. It just depends on the developmental level of the typical kid. Let’s say we are talking about a preschooler. Children usually are satisfied with a description of the behavior of the other children. For example, you could explain that the child with autism doesn't like change, or they can't talk, or it makes them feel better to pace back and forth, just make sure to explain what makes the autistic kid differents than others. As the typical child gets older, the description, explanation and vocabulary can become more in detail and also they will understand a lot better, maybe be able to play with them better or help them out more when they understand more about the autistic kid. Another way the parents can determine if they have given enough information to the child is to look for the “glaze over eyes”, and if you see this you have said too much. How many types of autism are there? Autism has just a single category for the diagnosis of an autistic disorder that might have been previously diagnosed. The following paragraph will explain a little bit about each of the spectrums of Autism.. The first one, Autistic disorder, is the one that most people think of when they think of autism. This just refers to the social interactions, communication, and imaginative play in children younger than three years old. Asperger's syndrome is the mildest form of autism. These children don't have problems with language, in fact they tend to score in the average or above average range on intelligence. Asperger’s affects boys three times more than girls. Another spectrum is Pervasive Development Disorder (PDD). This diagnoses applies to most children with autistic spectrum disorder. Typical children whose autism is more than Asperger’s syndrome, but not as severe as autistic disorder. Autistic kids with PDD-NOS are very widely, making it hard to generalize. Compared to children with other autistic disorders, children with PDD-NOS have, Impaired social interaction, they have better language skills than children with autistic disorders but not as good as kids with Asperger’s syndromes. Autistic Disorder is another spectrum in which these children meet more rigid criteria for a diagnosis of autism have autistic disorder. They typically have more severe impairments involving social and language functioning, as well as repetitive behaviors. They often have mental retardation and seizures. Rett syndrome is a form that mostly exclusively affects girls, this syndrome is rare. About one in 10,000 to 15,000 girls develop this severe form of autism. Between six and eighteen months these children stop responding socially, wrings their hands habitually, and loses language skills. Rett syndrome is usually caused by a genetic mutation. The mutation occurs randomly, rather than being inherited. Some treatment is focused on physical therapy and speech therapy to improve functions. Childhood DIsintegrative disorder this is the most severe autistic spectrum disorder as known as CDD is also the least common. A period of a normal development is usually between the ages 2 and 4, a child with CDD rapidly loses multiple areas of function. Language and social are lost as well as intellectual abilities. They often develops seizure disorder. Fewer than two children per 100,000 with autistic spectrum disorders meet the criteria for CDD. Boys are more affected more often than girls. (www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autism-spectrum-disorders ) Perhaps it is due to the fact that there are so many forms of Autism on the spectrum that makes it seem as though it is such an epidemic iuoiuo in our country. Nevertheless, Autism is a very common disease here in the United States, and it is on the rise. There is no cure for autism and the only treatment is therapy. Many of my family member are affected by this disease. We don’t know what causes it or why they have been effected. We do know that with lots of love, understanding and therapy the families of children with autism can learn to live with this disease.