Thesis+Based+Research+Project

This kind of research was necessary to take because it all felt to be the best way to find the necessary info about autism and there was a vast amount to find the way I decided to take. I wanted to do this project properly so I had to try to imagine it if I did not have autism and wanted to learn more about it and came up with a question that I think someone would ask if they did not know about it. I came up with following my question of "How is autism affecting many people throughout the world today?" It seemed to be a very complex question but I had to remember to start up with basic facts such as what autism is, how it can be diagnosed and treated, signs and symptoms of it, etc. Then I could dive into the deeper stuff such as how it could affect others that have to deal with them and how different autism can appear amongst certain individuals. This info could eventually lead me into answering my question of how much everyone could be affected by autism.
 * __Introduction__**

A. James, Frey C. "What is Autism?" //Iautistic//. 1 Aug. 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2009.  1. Since autism has so many types of disorders, the term “autism spectrum disorder” is generally used to specify all types (James). 2. Autistics have many difficulties with things such as predicting the future or even just speaking (James). 3. There is no conclusive explanation for autism but scientists have deduced that there are some genetic factors involved (James). 4. Autism can be misunderstood as a psychological disorder when it is actually developmental and goes from childhood until the end of life (James). 5. Autistics generally don’t know how to form social bonds or identify people or even form common sense (James).
 * __Research__**

B. Ozbayrak, Kann. "What is Asperger's Disorder?" //ASPERGER'S DISORDER HOMEPAGE//. 3 May 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2009.  1. Discovered by Hans Asperger, Asperger’s syndrome characterizes people that have social isolation and eccentric behavior during childhood (Ozbayrak). 2. Asperger’s syndrome is mainly a milder form of autism where one is also very intelligent (Ozbayrak). 3. They mainly focus on one interest and may have odd speech due to repetitive patterns or abnormalities of inflection and may have clumsiness in articulation or motor movements (Ozbayrak).

C. Locke, Kirsten. "Everyday Life with Autism: How to Deal with the More Mundane Details of living with an Autistic." //Suite101//. 26 June 2007. Web. 18 Sept. 2009.  1. Autistics could prefer to have a certain meal to eat everyday or certain clothes they want to wear but one caring for that person should allow them to be that way (Locke). 2. Autistics might not want to do simple tasks such as cleaning one’s teeth or hair because of their uncertainty of if these ever get better (Locke). 3. Having an autistic person as a family member may make it difficult to communicate with them as they may feel isolated from everyone and can't easily communicate with family members (Locke).

D. Cox, Lauren, and Sarah Sargenti. "Did Autism Rates Double?: A New Survey of Parents Leaves More Questions About Autism Than Answers." Online Posting. //ABC News//. ABC News, 5 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Oct. 2009.  1. The latest U.S. Government survey shows that there are cases of 1 in 91 (1.1 percent) children diagnosed with some sort of autistic disorder(?) (Cox and Sargenti). 2. The survey also shows that boys are diagnosed with autism four times more than girls and about 38% of children are said to recover from it (Cox and Sargenti). 3. "The study shows that the increase in autism is real -- you can't have a genetic epidemic -- there are environmental factors in play (Cox and Sargenti)." 4. "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)." 5. Most children are typically diagnosed with any form of ASD in early childhood around ages 4 to 5 as done in the survey (Cox and Sargenti).

E. Reuters. "Researchers find First Common Autism Gene." //The Independent//. 29 Apr. 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2009.  1. Researchers found a variant genetic link that relates to autism and connects to at least 15 percent of cases of the disorder (Reuters). 2. "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)." 3. "While this gene variant is common in the general population, we discovered that it occurs about 20 per cent more often in children with autism (Reuters)." 4. Most genes discovered in studies occur through synapses in the brain and may suggest different connectivity in other parts of the brain (Reuters).

F. Landau, Elaine. //Autism//. NEW YORK: Franklin Watts, 2001. Print. 1. Many people are affected differently from autism so it's difficult to find a case of someone with it and say that many others are like that case (Landau). 2. 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). 3. Other types of autism may include Asperger's syndrome for highly developed children and Rett's disorder (girls only) where there could be brain problems along with autistic behaviors (Landau). 4. Ideas such as organizing an education plan for the autistic child, diets, therapies, and certain medications are some ways to treat against autism but there is no cure yet to be found (Landau). 5. About 10 percent of adults with autism can still live independent lives, many of which have Asperger's syndrome, and many programs are working to make sure this possible for even more of them (Landau). 6. Autistic savants are highly skilled in areas such as music, math, and drawing and can learn to function very well. These autistics are usually gifted (Landau).

G. Parks, Peggy J. //Autism//. San Diego, CA: ReferencePoint, 2008. Print. 1. Environmental factors such as certain drugs during pregnancy could be related to causing autism along with other diseases (Parks). 2. Some children with severe autism tend to not be able to communicate and do repetitive behaviors frequently and may become easily agitated due to a extreme sensitivity to their senses (Parks). 3. People have tried to associate autism with mental retardation but many cases have proven that to not be true as many have grown up to live very successful lives (Parks). 4. Autism has also been linked to environmental pollution as well as mercury poisoning and vaccinations in short amounts of time (Parks). 5. Some believe that chelation treatments can not only help autistic children but cure them as well because of the amounts of mercury and lead removed from the bodies of those with autism (Parks). 6. Studies have found that autism can be noticed by particular spots on chromosomes and further study might be able to create a cure. Autism is also closely related to schizophrenia (Parks). 7. According to many analysts, autism could cost as much as $100,000 a year to treat and it could be extremely difficult to afford (Parks). 8. Another analysis shows that the rate of diagnosis for autism had grown when children were required to receive 26 vaccines in childhood instead of just 10 (Parks).

H. "Autism Fact Sheet." //National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke//. 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 07 Oct. 2009.  1. If a twin happens to have autism, there is around a 90 percent chance the other does too, suggesting how inheritance may come into play. 2. Symptoms often improve through age and treatment as modification in one's behavior shows the transition being made into adulthood. 3. Therapies and interventions may be the best way to treat autism and the sooner it starts, the better it is for the child with autism and for the family members dealing with him/her.

I. Rosaler, Maxine. //Coping With Asperger Syndrome (Coping)//. New York: Rosen Group, 2004. Print. 1. There is no true way to diagnose Asperger's syndrome but doctors can hint if they tend to want to be individual beyond that of most people (Rosaler). 2. The autism spectrum usually lies with other comorbid disorders, or disorders that accompany autism, but Asperger's Syndrome tends to go with at least another disorder or the doctor doing the diagnosis has most likely missed something (Rosaler). 3. High-functioning autism is a different but very similar diagnosis to that of Asperger's syndrome and both tend to be diagnosed later in life, particularly towards adolescence (Rosaler).

J. Hirsch, David. "High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome." //WebMD//. 3 Sept. 2009. Web. 19 Oct. 2009.  1. High-functioning autism and Asperger's syndrome tend to be very similar with symptoms such as lacking skill to interact with others or delay in motor skills but children with Asperger's Syndrome typically develop language skills earlier than those with high-functioning autism (Hirsch). 2. Many that have either of these autism disorders want social interaction but don't know how to express it and could be teased as social outcasts and that could make them acquire anxiety or depression (Hirsch). 3. Children with high-functioning autism still have a hard time maintaining relationships and lack in communication skills form childhood to adulthood (Hirsch). 4. Families can help those with the disorders by getting services such as Applied Behavior Analysis, the most successful treatment for children with autism, for them when needed as well as support groups that can help them overcome big challenges (Hirsch). 5. Diagnosis of high-functioning autism or Asperger's Syndrome tend to come later in a child's life as the symptoms aren't very noticeable until school years and could also be diagnosed because of lack of social skills, interest in certain topics or items, and poor communication abilities (Hirsch).

__**Thesis**__ After finding out what I needed to know on this topic, I've realized just how a serious this disorder truly is. It seems that the disorder is getting more common and the symptoms make it something to worry about in case you come across someone who is exactly like what the symptoms say they could be. The worst part is that it takes a lot of effort just to help them live and there are no definite ways to make them like everyone else. There is so much going on with the disorder yet most people don't realize just how far it is coming along with developments in both rate growth (rate of diagnosis) and how it doesn't get viewed for what it truly is. I would feel wrong not to say what I believe to be the issue: autism and the autism spectrum are 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.

__**Findings & Support for Findings**__ 1. Autism is a very common disorder and has many different variations that make it hard to come up with an exact definition. a. Support: A1, A4, D1, F1, F3, G3, F6, B1, I1, I3, J1

2. Families that have to deal with an autistic person could struggle to take care of that person because of the needs that person could have. a. Support: C1, C2, C3, G7, H1

3. Symptoms of the disorder tend to be very different among individuals with autism but they tend to slightly deteriorate over time and follow a particular pattern. a. Support: A2, A5, B2, B3, F2, F5, G2, H2, G3, J2, J3

4. Treatments vary and usually help against autism and bring up ideas on cures for it but being dependent on the treatments are not wise as they might not work well and the cures aren't proven to work but one could also grow out of it on their own. a. Support: F4, G5, G6, H3, J4

5. More people are being diagnosed with autism and are usually diagnosed at a young age and researchers are getting closer to figuring out exactly what could cause the disorder. a. Support: A3, D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, E1, E2, E3, E4, G1, G4, G8, I2, J5

__**Process Reflection**__ I learned many things when I was doing the research for this project. I had learned many more things about the general disorder I was born with and discovered just how much I truly did not know. I tried many methods for thinking like searching into the certain areas of a topic and looking through bits and pieces of information quickly to find what information was important and what did not matter. Finding particular sources is still a struggle for me to do quickly as I have to keep thinking of the exact kind of information I need but I usually find it despite the length of time it takes me to realize what is important. I was really surprised by some things I found such as the number of people being diagnosed with the disorder and the kinds of treatments work for some when they didn't work for me.

__**Connections to Overall Project**__ All of the ideas I found through my research...they seem to lead up to everything this project is about. All of these things show just how much there is to know about autism and the rest of the spectrum and it gives me the opportunity I need to convey my message about how important it is to know about the disorders that many others and I all have. This info can bring up ideas to target not only helping people deal with people handling the disorder but also help target certain areas that need the most attention for help. I found the research I need to make a good paper and I am now able to help my cause even more thanks to knowing what could be helped most of all in dealing with the disorder.