1. Autism: Cause’s and Effects 1
Running header: AUTISM: CAUSE AND EFFECTS
The effect of autism on the individual and families and possible cultural
effects in the increase of autism
Brittany Martinez
Welby New Technology

2. Autism: Cause’s and Effects 2
The effect of autism on the individual and families and possible cultural
effects in the increase of autism
Autism is a very complicated disease; there is so much to try to understand, Such as the
history and causes. There are also the different types of symptom and the effects. The last
thing that’s hard to understand is the treatments of autism. Autism is not like any other
disease, it’s a whole lot more complex.
What is autism? Autism is an effect on the brain that makes it hard for kids and
adults to communicate with people and show their emotions. Only about 1 out of 150
kids will develop autism. (Autism, 2009) There is no known reason or cause of autism.
There are a lot of theories of how autism is developed, but there are no actual causes of it.
Autism can be passed down throughout families, if parents have the same disease, they
can pass it down to their children. But again it’s hard to tell which trait is passed down
because the brain is very complicated. Scientists see that there are some cells in the brain
that are damaged are related to the communication, emotion and senses. Scientists are
still trying to figure out why this happens. The history of autism goes way back to 1911
when Eugen Bleuler a Swiss psychiatrist was first to acknowledge the disease.( History of
Autism, 2009) But it was said it was only with adult schizophrenics. In the 1940’s-60’s
scientists believed that kids with autism actually were schizophrenics. This led parents to
think that it was their fault. (History of Autism, 2009) During the 1960’s scientist started to
understand autism more and notice more symptoms of it and ways of treatment.
There are symptoms of autism, but they are hard to sort out because there
are so many and very from case to case. (From Mayo Clinic medical information and tools for
healthy living) Two children with the same disease can have two different symptoms. There

3. Autism: Cause’s and Effects 3
are also ways that they act depending on situation as in social systems. Sometimes kids
will not respond to their name. Or they will pretend they don’t hear you. Sometimes they
will resist hugging and cuddling. Then there are the language symptoms. The kids will
start talking later than most kids. They will not make eye contact when asking for
something. They will also have trouble starting and keeping conversations going. Other
signs to look for are behavior symptoms, kids will Performs repetitive movements, such
as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping. They will also want to move constantly and have
repetitive routines. Children with autism also have trouble sharing experiences with other
children. For example, When read to they will not point at pictures. (From Mayo Clinic
medical information and tools for healthy living, 2009) Autism symptoms can appear as
early as when a child is a baby from 0-24 months old. Although the behaviors may not be
as obvious as they are when a child is older, you have to pay more attention to babies to
see the signs of autism. Early signs of autism may be, not smiling by the age of 6 months,
not babbling or pointing by 12 months. Not using single words by age 16 months, not
using two word phrases by 24 months. (Early Signs of Autism, 2009)
There are treatments for autism. There are not medications or surgeries as
treatments, instead the kids or teens or adults are taught the things with which they have
the most problems with.. Such as communicating or showing emotion. Some autistics
may take medications for the aggressive anger they may have. But they will also be
taught to control that anger. (Autism, 2009) Some classes may have speech therapy,
physical therapy and even, music therapy. (KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about
children's health, 2009) Autism isn’t a normal disease that comes and goes. Its not like
cancer or any other disease, there is no cure for autism and you can’t fight it with

4. Autism: Cause’s and Effects 4
medication. This disease is in the most complicated part of the body; the brain. Scientist
are STILL trying to find out all the reasons why it happens, but scientists only know how
about 20% of the brain works. Maybe the affects of autism are in that other 80% and
there are probably a lot more things in that 80%. This complex disease is really hard to
try to understand, that’s why it has been around since 1911 and scientists are still trying
to figure it out.

5. Autism: Cause’s and Effects 5
Autism. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from Autism Web site:
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/autism.html
Autism. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from History of Autism Web site:
http://www.autism-pdd.net/autism-history.html
Autism. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from Mayo Clinic medical information and tools for
healthy living - MayoClinic.com Web site:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/autism/DS00348/DSECTION=symptoms
Autism. Retrieved March 12, 2009, from KidsHealth - the Web's most visited site about
children's health Web site: http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/school/autism.htm
Autism. Retrieved March 17, 2009, from Early Signs of Autism Web site:
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/weeklyquestion/a/04_signs_autism.htm