World Autism Awareness Day 2016
Today is the World Autism Awareness Day. Established by the United Nations in 2007, the day aims to raise awareness for the improvement of people’s life affected by this condition. But what is autism?
It is a pervasive developmental disorder that affects the capacity of processing information in different levels. Usually people suffering from autism have difficulties in social interactions, have sensory deficits with no eye contacts and poor mobility skills. Some have superior intelligence and some not.
Over the past 40 years cases of autism have soared. According to the World Health Organization, 1 person out of 160 has autism.
Usually it occurs at two years old and mostly males seem to be affected, four times more than females. According to some research, its origin can be given by the abnormal exposure of the fetus to testosterone in uterus. Autism is reflected to people with “extreme male brain”, as people in this condition have an obsession with systemization and details, inclination towards numbers and maths.
Autistic children have a series of obsessive behaviors such as clapping hands, making sounds continuously. They can fix the same things repeatedly for a long time and they usually prefer routine actions every day.
It is also thought that the manifestation of autism is linked to the advanced age of conception of parents and linked also with the presence of toxins in the environment.
There is no specific treatment for autism. Dedicated educational programs can improve the intellectual skills of autistic subjects.
A preventive intervention could improve the conditions of autistic children and their learning ability. In this parents have a primary role. In fact, a very active participation during these therapy sessions is recommended.
If you are a parent who is facing for the first time this situation, read the next article for the first steps to do.
This blogpost is inspired by this article.
If you like Mash&Co and want to be updated, follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram. 😉