What Every Parent Should Know About Autism, Outline Example

I. Introduction: What is Autism?

II. Thesis Statement: Autism is a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life

III. Evidences of Autism

• Medical Definition

1. Autism develops ages 1-3 (Schwartz, I., & Sandall, 2010)
2. Child develops normally, then begins to regress (Mayes, Calhoun, Murray, Morrow, Yurich, Mahr & Petersen, 2009)
3. Autism affects approx 500,000 people in US currently
4. No definitive cause; not genetic as in trisomy 21
5. No cure, only multiple treatment techniques

• Developmental Delays (early childhood) (Matson, Fodstad, & Dempsey, 2009)

1. Behavioral Delays
2. Langauge Delays
3. Social and Emotional Delays
4. Cognitive Delays
5. Sensory Integration Difficulties
6. Motor Delays/Incapabilites

• Adulthood Development (adolescence to adulthood)

1. Symptoms vary from each individual
2. The ASDs- Autism Spectrum Disorders
3. Some are severely mentally retarded, non-verbal, etc.
4. Some have above average IQs
5. Most ASD individuals live to adulthood

IV. Possible Causes of Autism; Why we have failed to find a cause (Papanikolaou, Paliokosta, Houliaras, Vgenopoulou, Giouroukou, Pehlivanidis & Tsiantis, 2009)

• No specific underlying cause of Autism can be identified.

1. We still know very little about Autism in general.
2. We diagnose with a checklist, no genetic link nor distinguishing factor
3. First symptoms of Autism were documented in 1940- relatively new
4. Tends to run in families

• Theories proven erroneous

1. Environmental
2. Upbringing
3. Feeding and care in youth
4. Geographic
5. Radiation
6. Seretonin (green)

V. Summary and Conclusion: Of the many conceivable causes of Autism, it is very unlikely that the disability is caused by toxic levels of mercury found in childhood vaccinations, as many law firms have recently began conjecturing

References

Matson, J., Fodstad, J., & Dempsey, T. (2009). What symptoms predict the diagnosis of autism or PDD-NOS in infants and toddlers with developmental delays using the Baby and   Infant Screen for Autism Traits. Developmental Neurorehabilitation, 12(6), 381-388.

Mayes, S., Calhoun, S., Murray, M., Morrow, J., Yurich, K., Mahr, F., & Petersen, C. (2009). Comparison of scores on the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Childhood Autism Rating Scale, and Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale for children with low functioning            autism, high functioning autism, Asperger’s disorder, ADHD, and typical development. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 39(12), 1682-1693.

Papanikolaou, K., Paliokosta, E., Houliaras, G., Vgenopoulou, S., Giouroukou, E., Pehlivanidis,  A., & Tsiantis, I. (2009). Using the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic for the diagnosis of autism spectrum       disorders in a Greek sample with a wide range of intellectual abilities. Journal of Autism & Developmental Disorders, 39(3), 414-420.

Schwartz, I., & Sandall, S. (2010). Is autism the disability that breaks part C? A commentary on “infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: early identification and early intervention,” by Boyd, Odom, Humphreys, and Sam… Boyd, B. A., Odom, S. L., Humphreys, B. P., Sam, A. M. (2010). Infants and toddlers with autism spectrum disorder: Early identification and early intervention. Journal of Early Intervention, 32, 73-96. Journal of Early Intervention, 32(2), 105-109.