Why is Autism such a Mystery?

  We could do all of the research in the world, but never actually get a solid facutal answer to this question. There have been ideas, experiments, and explanations over the years but nothing has been officially confirmed. As of August 2, 2010, CNN published an article about the most recent developments of Autism.  
    Last  February, A twelve year study that linked Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, to Autism was proven false.  Then, in March, a federal court ruled that there is no link between mercury based vaccines and Autism. So after all this research has been revoked, where does Autism stand now?
    Here's what CNN had to say, the most important update to Autism today is that it is on the rise, more and more each day children are being diagnosed with the disorder. Four years ago 1 in every 150 children were diagnosed, and today there is 1 child with autism out of every 91 children.  Not only is it more common in general, it is four times more common in boys than in girls.
    Recent studies also speculate that ean earlier idagnosis may be key.  As of right now, children can not be officially diagnosed until they are three years old.  It is obvious that the signs of Autism can be seen as young as a year old.   Forms of early intervention may be very beneficial.  Thurdly, a genome study found that there is a  variation in genes ten and nine with form nerve connections.
    As you can see, the facts about abou Autism are always changing.  Although some research has been revoked, there are new ideas on the horizon and hopefully we are getting closer to a cure.

Latest Resarch on Autism

Let us start by introducing ourselves...

Hello fellow bloggers and readers!


  Our names are, Courtney Carroll, Samantha Palczynski, and Eryn Kenney. We are enrolled in the Social Studies block section one at Salem State University. For those of you who may not know, "block" is known as our pre-practicum semester at the University in preparation of becoming Elementary school teachers. 
We have been assigned a group project that asks us to research a topic in the media today, something we feel strongly about, and research it, blog about it, and create lessons for our students about it.
  As a group, we will be digging a little bit deeper into the causes of Autism. As you may know, Autism is a developmental disorder that effects the brains ability to communicate and socialize. Autism is diagnosed based on a Spectrum, this spectrum determines whether a patient with autism is high functioning or low functioning. Along the Autism spectrum there are also two other disorders, one is called Asperger syndrome, and the other is Persuasive Developmental Disorder- not otherwise specified.
   The reason for our research is to gain a better understanding of why a diagnosis of Autism can mean so many things. There are reports and accusations that Autism can be caused by childhood vaccinations, as well as the neglect of a fetus during pregnancy.  None of these suspicions have been confirmed, and there is no explanation as to the causes of the disorder. Most people believe that Autism can not be diagnosed until the age of three.  However, this article by Sally J. Rogers would disagree, "The Retrospective studies of infant videotapes of children later diagnosed with autism have demonstrated significant differences in infants with autism by the age of 10–12 months, differences that distinguish them both from normally developing children and from children who have other kinds of developmental delays"(Rogers).   These many different suspicions of Autism make the disorder very mysterious and unknown. 
There is no known cure of the disorder, other than therapeutic techniques, as well as constant therapy.  We are hoping to find many sources that can help us begin to link the Autism puzzle together. 

Citations


Rogers, Sally. Diagnosis of Autism Before the Age of Three. International Research in Mental Retardation. Vol 23. The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  2000. (Print).