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Many illnesses, both physical and mental, affect people whether they are the ones with it or ones living with others that have it. Mental illness tends to stay with one for their entire life and one of the most serious forms of mental illness is autism. Autism and the entire autism spectrum are extremely common in our world today yet not enough people know what it is. Many people would first assume that it is basically mental retardation but in reality, it is truly holding back capabilities for these people and they just need to help to realize what they can do. Everyone should know exactly what the autism spectrum is and the vast ranges of the its effects as chances are that everyone will meet at least one person diagnosed with some form of autism and knowledge of the disorders can do wonders when they find someone with it themselves. To sum everything up, the autism spectrum is growing into a major epidemic due to increasing numbers of affected people, numerous possible causes, and the broader effects on the individual and family life.

The first thing that must be known is exactly what autism is classified as. So what is autism? Some may confuse it as a psychological disorder when it is really a developmental disorder that stays with the individuals with it from childhood until the end of their lives (James). They can be diagnosed with plenty of tests that search for things such as social awkwardness and certain behaviors and diagnosis is quite common. Many symptoms can identify autism but they affect every individual with it so differently that it is hard to say that one can be assumed to have the symptoms of all the others (Landau). Some symptoms include not being able to communicate properly, difficulty learning to talk, strange response to sensory stimulation, and repetitive actions like hand waving or biting (Landau). They mainly focus on one particular interest, have odd speech due to repetitive patterns or abnormalities of inflection, and may have clumsiness in articulation or motor movements (Ozbayrak).

The causes of autism are still are unknown and not definite but there are plenty of theories as to what the causes are. Many analysts have discovered that genetics are involved with autism as they have found that it can be found in certain spots on chromosomes and a gene variant has been found that is related to 15 percent of individuals diagnosed with autism (Reuters). "Previous studies have suggested that autism is a developmental disorder resulting from abnormal connections in the brain. These three studies suggest some of the genetic factors which might lead to abnormal connectivity (Reuters)." Environment is another big factor for causing autism as some believe that women taking drugs during pregnancy or mercury poisoning have been related to some findings of individuals with autism (Parks). "We know there are certain genetic defects and chromosomal defects with huge incidence of autism spectrum disorders. We need to be looking at prenatal risk factors and exposures," she said. "I believe the 'hit' to a child's neurodevelopment happens before conception, at conception or shortly afterwards -- that's where the money is (Cox and Sargenti)." Vaccines are also questioned as the rate of kids diagnosed with it went up rapidly when doctors changed necessary number of vaccines of toddlers from 10 to 26 (Parks). Whatever the true causes or combination of causes may be, it still has yet to be discovered completely.

Since autism goes across a spectrum, there are plenty of ways to determine its exact diagnosis. Like I sa What I've mentioned up to this point is the classic autism diagnosis but there are quite a few more. Asperger's Syndrome, another common diagnosis similar to high-functioning autism, is much milder compared to classic autism (Ozbayrak) and is usually diagnosed later in life when most kids are diagnosed with classic autism at around 2 years of age (Rosaler). Asperger's Syndrome is diagnosed by as early as 5 years of age as language development may start earlier than those with general or high-functioning autism (Hirsch). Many forms of autism are also commonly diagnosed with comorbid disorders; Asperger's Syndrome is said to have at least something else along with it or the doctor may be assumed wrong (Rosaler). There are also other diagnoses including including Rett Disorder, indicating brain problems in autistic girls, and other pervasive developmental disorders relating to autism (Landau). There are many ways to diagnose the disorder but most could define it as an "autism spectrum disorder" to classify any disorder relating to the spectrum (James).

As many kinds of ways there are to diagnose the disorders, there are also just about as many ways to treat the disorder. There are plenty of ways to combat against autism such as creating an organized plan for the individual, special diets, group therapies, and medications that can all reduce showing of symptoms (Landau). Some of these methods are very questionable; chelation treatments are believed to be a cure for some as they remove mercury and lead in the body and some were seen as cured completely after the treatment (Parks). The most popular and seemingly most effective treatment appears to be Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), where they analyze the child in how they interact with particular environments (Hirsch). There are also many other treatments that are unique and effective but the most effective therapies are said to be therapies and interventions and they have better effects when started earlier for the individual. As good as some may be, they are not all necessary as kids could react differently to different treatments and some could even recover out of it completely on their own just by growing up.

The autism spectrum disorders are very serious as they mostly continue throughout all of life and people that have it could truly change the lives of their caretakers, whether it be their parents, siblings, other relatives, or friends. People that have autism could have it pretty bad as many are barely able to communicate with peers and their extreme sensitivity makes them agitated very easily while repetitive motions keep appearing (Parks). Many also have trouble trying to predict anything in the future and could have trouble with forming social bonds with loved ones or even common sense in the world around them and these could all last through adulthood as well as childhood (James, Hirsch). Just because autistic people have trouble trying to communicate with people doesn't necessarily mean that they are completely antisocial. Many people with autism, more often with high-functioning or Asperger's Syndrome, actually want to communicate with others but don't know how to express themselves and therefore may get teased as social outcasts from everyone, which could lead them into extreme anxiety or depression (Hirsch).

People that are diagnosed with autism have a lot to deal with but the same goes for the people that have to take care of them or know them on a personal level. Many autistic people may tend to have interest in only one particular item or group of item and others have to find ways to deal with their obsession. Taking care of someone with autism could be a challenge as they may need help being fed or having clothes and could have an interest in only one item when it may be difficult to do that particular task the way they want it done (Locke). Some may even need to be encouraged to do the more mundane tasks of life such as cleaning their hair or brushing their teeth as they could often doubt if they even make things better for them (Locke). Forming a social bond with a friend or family member with autism can be extremely difficult as they may feel isolated from other members, making it harder to communicate with them (Locke). A lot of care needs to be taken into both children and adults with autism as it could take as much as $100,000 a year for people just to help them deal with autism (Parks).

Many people tend to view autism as a form of mental retardation but that has been disproved as many have also been able to function well and live successful independent lives (Parks). Even though living with autistic people can be very difficult, some may have great things to offer and could bring hope into the eyes of many people. One of the biggest things of autism come from the savants; they are very often gifted, learn to function very well, and many of them are extremely talented in at least one area like math, music, or art (Landau). Savants aren't too common but just because one isn't a savant doesn't mean that they can't live normal lives. There are about ten percent of autistic adults that have grown out of it to live successful lives, more likely to come from those with Asperger's Disorder, and people are working on other programs such as group therapies that can help even more people with autism live independently (Landau).

Autistic people may have it rough from what people may notice but as much as one may know about their disorder, many couldn't truly feel or understand the emotions that those with autism feel as an effect from having to live their lives the way they do. Now I'm going to go into this on a personal level to help give others a general idea about how it is to live with autism personally as I happen to have autism myself; Asperger's Syndrome to be exact. I was diagnosed at age 3 as with pervasive-developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and later in my life at age 15 with Asperger's Syndrome and can say that I knew how it felt to truly be in the shoes of someone with autism. The disorder had affected me throughout my entire life and I didn't learn that I had it until I was 10 but the moment I learned I had it, my life quickly changed upon that new info about myself.

Living as a child with autism was usually when most of the symptoms were at their worst and became very noticeable to others. I would often run around and do things such as poke my brothers in the head whenever I walked by or jumped wherever I stood. I don't remember too much about my childhood but I was taken into an autism support school, a kind of education that helped kids deal with autism and I went there throughout a lot of my preschool days. They would try getting us used to things for us such as socializing with one another or having fun with music and the teachers would work really hard to make sure we were functioning at least around a reasonable level. I also had lots of fear when I was young as I would rarely make eye contact with anybody and would speak gibberish as well as talk to myself. Whenever we had family parties, I would always go away from the scene by going into my room or a room isolated from everybody else so I didn't feel overwhelmed from the amount of people. I, personally, didn't want contact with people because I was afraid of being judged or doing something wrong so I tried my best to make sure I didn't get into many social situations.

I started to improve bit by bit as I entered my elementary and middle school years. I was forming strong, yet odd, relationships with many friends when I started going to Springfield Township Enfield Elementary at a normal age. I started to learn lots of things and many people were liking me back in elementary school including many of the teachers as well as other kids around my age. Then I started getting scared of social confrontations due to some older kids and I tended to not talk to many people. I had speech therapy in elementary school to prevent my awkward speaking and the guidance counselor in the middle school helped me get better with eye contact so I wouldn't be as scared to make social confrontations. I started to socialize better with people but I was still nervous and upset that I still didn't have many people to talk to but some friends were always believing in me.

Things happened to get even better for me in high school. I started to get slightly more comfortable with socializing with people both around my age group as well as beyond it and felt slightly more comfortable. After I had my "life-changing expreience" in 9th grade, things started to come to life for me. The next year, I discovered my talent for music and excelled in playing the clarinet as well as quickly learning the alto saxophone. My socialization skills were almost "normal" by the time I was through the 9th grade year. Socializing with people was a lot easier and I was feeling less anxious afterwards. I was doing so well that most people didn't think I even had Asperger's Syndrome, which I was diagnosed during my "life-changing experience." I started socializing with nearly everybody and I could carry a conversation on for a long time as well as think of ideas to talk about. I was thrilled that I could do this but I still remembered that most wouldn't be as fortunate as I was with my social skills.

I really have to give great thanks to my life-changing experience that helped me change during the worst of times. When I was in 9th grade, I didn't feel like I socialized enough and people were still making fun of me for being too quiet. Eventually, my social isolation got so bad that the guidance counselor could see that I was depressed and knew I needed help before I did something drastic. I didn't know what she had planned for me but I was apparently being taken into a place in Fairmount where kids were taken for evaluation of their "unbalanced" mental state of mind. The change really scared me like most did and after getting there, I was frightened for my life. I had no friends to reach out to and I was with other kids who weren't in complete control of their mentality. I got evaluated my second day there and after that, the doctor diagnosed me with Asperger's Syndrome. I learned what it was a week after I got out but I tried to accomodate inside what I wanted to get out of the minute I got in. That experience changed my life because I got a view of what other people had to deal with and realized my problems weren't as bad. My depression seemed to go away just as I got out and after I did, I got into an emotional support group in school and while doing that, my social skills got just what they needed and took a giant leap. The emotional support counselor even told me that she wouldn't have known I had Asperger's or any form of autism if she wasn't told and she dealt with plenty of kids with Asperger's Syndrome.

Seeing how my life is, I guess one could say that I'm one of the very fortunate cases of kids with autism. My development skills were going slowly like most kids but special education groups had helped me get much better with socializing as well as dealing with the world around me. I improved so much that by the time I was in my teens, nobody could even assume that I had Asperger's Syndrome or any form of autism. I have talents like many savants did as I could learn to play music very well compared to most of the kids in our school bands. I may have gotten lucky but doing everything I did may not be the same result for others as many autistic people could get extremely anxious or frightened trying things that I went through and would need some other form of treatment. I am living proof that all people handle the spectrum disorder differently and one would have to find other methods that could help the kid become as fortunate as me.

I may have gotten help by many social support groups in schools but they aren't the only people helping with autism. There are many organizations and famous people that are doing whatever they can to help spread autism awareness and give people a better understanding of what autistic individuals go through. Many programs such as the Autism Society of America are doing anything possible to help spread awareness and many researchers are looking for ways to narrow down the disorder every day. Temple Grandin, Ph.D, a world famous woman with autism, has developed very well and learned to do a lot with her found talents and she is known as the most accomplished adult that is diagnosed with autism (Grandin). She even made a book about ways of dealing with autism and has been on many national TV programs such as the //Today Show//, //Larry King Live//, //20/20//, and more. She knows a lot about autism and has done a lot of things such as public speaking to give her knowledge and spread awareness to others around the world (Grandin).

Autism, overall, really is having a major impact on the lives of nearly every single person. Rates of kids being diagnosed are increasing and the different environmental factors and genetic factors are being observed and narrowed down to possibly find what is causing these increases. Lives of families and friends of those with autism disorder get affected by how much they have to care for them and even though it may cost a lot to treat them, doing it early could make the person that much closer to developing along the same rate as everybody else. The individual gets affected by autism most of all because they lack the kind of control most people have and that could make others want to be isolated from them and the social isolation brings them into an even worse mental state. My experience shows the kind of development a kid with autism could go through if one finds exactly what works for them and it may be different but the younger the treatment starts, the better it can be for the child. Autism is spreading more and more every day as many people keep being diagnosed with it. It soon may come to a point where the world is mainly people with autism and the more awareness spreads, the better it could be to deal with the disorder as soon as it is diagnosed. Autism awareness must be spread or people are going to be dealing with everybody that has an "unknown" developmental illness.