Autism Causation VS correlation
Sucher 1
RUNNING HEAD: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: WHAT’S CAUSING IT
Autism Spectrum Disorders: What’s causing them in our Children?
Angela Sucher
Renton Technical College
RUNNING HEAD: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: WHAT’S CAUSING IT Sucher 2 There is a diagnosis that is becoming more and more prevalent each year in our children; autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses continue to rise as parents continue to seek answers of their origins. Once thought primarily to be a singular disorder, autism is now diagnosed on a spectrum of disorders classified by three main symptoms. The autism spectrum holds two primary disorders, autistic disorder and Asperger syndrome; both disorders are characterized by profound symptoms of social and communicative impairments as well as repetitive behaviors (Veenstra, J. 2004). There is also a classification of either early on-set autism (where the child never acquires the social and communication skills) or regressive autism where they acquire the skills but lose them at some point before 24 months (Komaroff, A. 2011). ASD’s are now grabbing global attention as their rates continue to rise every year and parents everywhere continue to be plagued with the unanswered question: Why? As the CDC releases daunting statistics that 1:110 children will be diagnosed with an ASD ( CDC.2009) studies all around the world are searching for answers on what causes these developmental disorders in our children. Primarily, there have been three debates that have any scientific backing at all. So we will examine these studies in an attempt to answer if it is environmental, genetic or chemical factors that cause autism spectrum disorders in our children? Environmental factors have long been linked to ASD’s but are often mistaken for other causations. To thoroughly understand the studies linking environmental factors to ASD’s we must first understand that environmental factors are scientifically interpreted not just as
RUNNING HEAD: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: WHAT’S CAUSING IT
Autism Spectrum Disorders: What’s causing them in our Children?
Angela Sucher
Renton Technical College
RUNNING HEAD: AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: WHAT’S CAUSING IT Sucher 2 There is a diagnosis that is becoming more and more prevalent each year in our children; autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnoses continue to rise as parents continue to seek answers of their origins. Once thought primarily to be a singular disorder, autism is now diagnosed on a spectrum of disorders classified by three main symptoms. The autism spectrum holds two primary disorders, autistic disorder and Asperger syndrome; both disorders are characterized by profound symptoms of social and communicative impairments as well as repetitive behaviors (Veenstra, J. 2004). There is also a classification of either early on-set autism (where the child never acquires the social and communication skills) or regressive autism where they acquire the skills but lose them at some point before 24 months (Komaroff, A. 2011). ASD’s are now grabbing global attention as their rates continue to rise every year and parents everywhere continue to be plagued with the unanswered question: Why? As the CDC releases daunting statistics that 1:110 children will be diagnosed with an ASD ( CDC.2009) studies all around the world are searching for answers on what causes these developmental disorders in our children. Primarily, there have been three debates that have any scientific backing at all. So we will examine these studies in an attempt to answer if it is environmental, genetic or chemical factors that cause autism spectrum disorders in our children? Environmental factors have long been linked to ASD’s but are often mistaken for other causations. To thoroughly understand the studies linking environmental factors to ASD’s we must first understand that environmental factors are scientifically interpreted not just as
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