Autism seems to be rising world-wide. Is it really rising or are we just more vigilant about diagnosing?
According to Reuters, the past ten years has shown an increase in autism, hyperactivity and Tourett's syndrome in Denmark. Unfortunately, Denmark's University of Aarhus did not investigage why this is happening.
What is Autism?
According to WebMD, autism is a brain disorder that often interferes with a person's ability to communicate with and relate to others. It can have some of the following symptoms:
- significant problems developing nonverbal communication skills
- failure to establish friendships with children the same age
- lack of interest in sharing enjoyment and interests with other people
- lack of empathy
- delay in learning to talk
- problems starting a conversation
- repetitive use of language
- difficulty understanding their listener's perspective
- unusual focus on pieces (focusing on the wheels of the car instead of the car)
- preoccupation with certain topics--train schedules, weather reports
- need for routine
Some believe that autism's cause is from vaccinations--specifically the mercury (thimerosal) used in the vaccine. Others disagree with this theory and state the cause as unknown.
While hyperactivity, Tourette's syndrome and autism seem to be increasing, obsessive-compulsive disorder is not. This is curious since all of these disorders are related to brain function. An article in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine stated that the upward trends in children's brain disorders is a broader pattern of neuro-psychiatric illness.
This trend poses more challenges for schools and increases training needs for teachers to teach these children.
Related site: Autism Site, Vance Chapman.
Read previous articles on Educational Issues.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
