Autism

Eugen Bleuler (1857-1939), a Swiss psychiatrist, first termed “autism” but applied it to adult schizophrenia. In 1943, the term was redefined by Leo Kanner (1894-1981) who dissociated autism from schizophrenia to create the modern understanding of the disorder.b Autism affects one in every 150 children born in the United States.c If one identical twin is diagnosed with autism, the other twin has about 90% chance of develop an autistic disorder.f Mutations on chromosome 16 have been tied to autism. The glitch is in a DNA region that contains “morpheus” genes, or genes which historically have changed very rapidly as humans evolved. In other words, the same method that helped evolve human intelligence may contribute to autism.b There is no blood test, no scan, and no image that can detect autism. Diagnosis relies on behavioral observation and screening.f “Naughty Auties” is a virtual resource center for those with autism.i Environmental factors that could trigger predisposed genes to mutate and cause autism are vast and could include certain drugs, chemicals, heavy metal exposure, antibiotics, extensive television viewing, flame retardant, or infections duringpregnancy.f A study suggests that counties with higher precipitation levels have higher autism rates A study from three states suggests that counties with higher precipitation levels have higher autism rates. Higher precipitation rates might carry more pollutants, decreased vitamin D levels, and increased television watching that could trigger autism.h Across a mere 10-year period—1993-2003—statistics from the U.S. Department of Education revealed a 657% increase in the nationwide rate of autism. Researchers debate whether autism rates are increasing or if broadening definitions of autism allow more people to be diagnosed.j Autism is more common than childhood cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined.j