Marine Corps History

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects the brain. It begins the first three years after conception and it also harms the immunological system and the organs in the body. "Autism is not a mental illness. The roots of autism are in the brain itself, not necessarily in the mind. Autism isn't mental retardation. People with autism have normal memories. Some children with autism have below- normal intelligence; many have normal levels of intelligence." (Freedman) Autistic children are no different looking that any other kid, but have different behaviors than normal kids. They have poor communication and social skills due to the disorder of the brains development. Autistic children receive speech - language, occupational, physical, medication, and applied behavior analysis therapies. Autism is said to not be curable only made much easier to be treated. However, there have been more than 1,000 cases where children have recovered from Autism, but people are in disbelief. There is different categories of Autism spectrum disorders, from bad to severe; Asperger syndrome, Rett syndrome, and childhood disintegrative disorder. (pg.6)

Parents of autistic children can start to notice if their child is being abnormal by eighteen months. By the age of two, parents should have contacted a doctor. Symptoms can change from moderate to severe, so it's best to treated immediately. As an infant an autistic infant won't show facial expressions, won't babble by twelve months, and won't imitate or speak words by the age of two. As the child grows, they won't make friends easily, may show aggression to themselves by scratching or banging their heads onto something, body movements are repeated, their five senses are sensitive, and will have a hard time maintaining a conversation. As for non verbal communications, an autistic child won't show eye contact, facial expressions may won't match to what he or she might be saying, won't show gestures as to what they are trying to come across. "There are many warning signs and symptoms, but they typically revolve around impaired social skills, speech and language difficulties, non-verbal communication difficulties, and inflexible behavior." (Smith)

The cause of autism in children is still unknown. Studies have shown that autism comes from abnormalities in the brains development. Ninety percent of autistic children is know to have gotten it genetically, but researchers haven't found what triggers autism. It has been suspected that vaccines containing mercury, the body's inability to properly use vitamins and minerals, diets and tract changes could be the cause of autism but are not proven. However, you can reduce risks of having an autistic child. Consider staying away from chemical fumes, take prenatal vitamins before and after baby is born, eat organic fruits and vegetables.

The child's sex, other disorders, and family history are a risk factor for autism. It is said that boys are four to five times more likely to develop autism than girls. Autism is also passed down genetically. A family with an autistic child has a high chance of having another child with autism. Also, if the child has other medical conditions have a higher risk of having autism than a healthy child. Vaccines containing mercury is believed to cause autism even though it has not been proven. According to Landa (2012) older parents, extremely low birth weight, premature birth, and genetic mutations of unknown, possible risk factors and are now being studied.

Parents should take their child to the doctor as soon as they start seeing the symptoms and signs. The faster specialists get to see the child, the better treatment he'll get to have. When the parent notices that the child doesn't behave like