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ABA is one of the most common therapies for people with autism, especially kids. It’s all about helping them build good habits, like how to talk to others, follow directions, or handle daily tasks. Therapists use rewards to encourage positive behavior, and it’s super personalized depending on what the person needs help with.

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Most diagnosis’ for ASD come through observations and descriptions from parents or caregivers; however, there are screenings that are done as the kids are born that they can go through to help with receiving an earlier diagnosis. Developmental screenings can happen specifically for ASD during the 18 month visit and the 24 month visit; although, at any of the times children are screened for developmental delays at 9 months, 18 months and 30 months the beginning signs of delays that can correlate with ASD can be seen.

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Social skills training involves guided instruction and practice in recognizing and responding appropriately in social situations. It addresses difficulties in social interaction, such as understanding social cues, initiating conversations, and maintaining relationships. This is often led by a psychologist, counselor, or speech-language pathologist. Mostly depends on the setting.

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The primary anatomical structures are the brain, specifically the cerebellum, the amygdala in the frontal cortex, the hippocampus, and the corpus callosum.

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Autism is a developmental disability that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave. Individuals experience a wide range of challenges and strengths. This disorder varies from person to person.

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Overall, there isn’t a set age that is showing the most signs of autism. However, kids from 6 to 12 have some of the hardest times developmentally when diagnosed or having autism because of all of the academic, social , and behavioral changes with much harder difficulty.

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Although autism can be found in all genders, boys are three times as likely to have and be diagnosed with autism than girls.

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Studies are continuously being done, trying to find the genetic reasons of why, and how people are born with autism. Some reasons could be of matching genomes and siblings or parents. Along with father’s over 50 have more mutations in their sperm, raising the Chance of being born with autism. However, many genes can be found to be linked with autism, including, RELN, Arx, MeCP2 and many others

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For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be related to a genetic condition, such as Rett syndrome or fragile X syndrome. Genetic changes, also known as mutations may raise the risk.

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Babies born before 26 weeks of a parent's pregnancy have a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder.

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Families who have one child with autism spectrum disorder have a higher risk of having another child with the condition.

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Many people with autism suffer from problems in their G.I. tract. This can happen because of the gut brain axis, along with alternative nervous system system responses. These problems can cause abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, constipation, intestinal infections, and even vomiting.

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The caudate nucleus is a key brain structure linked to Autism. It is responsible for several functions, including learning, memory, reward, motivation, and emotion. The reduced volume of the caudate nucleus in people with autism may be linked to the impaired social and communication skills characteristic of the condition.

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Those with autism typically possess neurotransmitter imbalances. This involves the GABA (inhibitory) and glutamate (exhibitory), which tend to affect the brain's ability to process and regulate sensory inputs resulting in overstimulation or even undersensitivity. Other challenges people with autism face due to these imbalances are social communication with those around them.

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The DSM-5 is a tool used to help diagnose ASD. It helps cover the persistent deficiency and social communication and their social interactions, along with their restricted repetitive patterns of behavior, interest, or their activities. With the DSM-5 a person must meet all three criteria in the social communication/interaction area, while they only need to meet two of the four of the restricted/repetitive behavior area to be diagnosed with ASD. This specific test keeps the framework consistent and standardized for healthcare professionals to accurately identify individuals with ASD.

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Autism is considered a spectrum disorder because symptoms and the severity can differ between each individual.

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Autism is considered a spectrum disorder because symptoms and the severity can differ between each individual.

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Avoids or does not keep eye contact

Does not respond to name by 9 months of age

Does not show facial expressions such as happy, sad, angry, and surprised by 9 months of age

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Does not play simple interactive games like pat-a-cake by 12 months of age

Uses few or no gestures by 12 months of age (for example, does not wave goodbye)

Does not share interests with others by 15 months of age (for example, shows you an object that they like)

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Repeats words or phrases over and over (called echolalia)

Gets upset by minor changes

Has obsessive interests

Must follow certain routines

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Delayed language skills

Delayed movement skills

Unusual mood or emotional reactions

Anxiety, stress, or excessive worry

Lack of fear or more fear than expected

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Due to the challenges that people with autism face such as difficulties with managing emotions can lead to long term battles of heightened stress, anxiety, and emotional dysregulation making autism worse over periods of time.

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Not everyone with autism needs full-time help, but living on your own isn’t always the easiest. Things such as paying bills, managing schedules, or even taking care of a home can be tough for individuals that possess autism.

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Speech therapy is a very beneficial treatment and a commonly used treatment for individuals with autism. Such ways of implementing this can be the use of gestures or devices in order to communicate or understand the social rules of conversations. This greatly increases one's ability to express needs and emotions to another along with understanding.

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People with ASD have a higher chance of epilepsy throughout their life, which can lead to premature mortality for people with ASD. Around 25 to 30% of individuals with autism spectrum disorder can also experience epilepsy. Some factors like their genetic and metabolic disorders that occur with ASD are those that can increase the risk of developing epilepsy.

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Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of psychotherapy that helps you take your feelings and behavior that could be negative to eventually make those behaviors and thoughts positive. The cost of one session can range from $100-$250 depending on where you live. Most all plans can cover CBT through a necessity. If cognitive behavioral therapy is not done with people that have ASD it can lead to long-term mental health conditions, and a more negative thought process and behaviors throughout their life.

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Occupational therapy can help individuals that have ASD because it helps focus on improving their ability to participate in every day activities and improve their independence. These skills are to help individuals with ASD long-term to maintain their independence and help them achieve goals in their everyday life. Occupational therapist are people that would help in this case.

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Physical therapy can help individuals that have ASD focus more on their motor skills, balance, and their overall functional movement. This can be done to help improve their overall health, social and physical activity, bouncing coordination, and even their sensory processing. This type of therapy will also help them long-term to be more independent with their own actions and body. The people that would help with this our physical therapist.

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This is done by a speech-language pathologist to improve communication skills, vocabulary, and alternative communication methods. Typically $100 to $250 per hour, with total annual costs varying widely depending on frequency (e.g., weekly sessions). Often covered by insurance, especially when prescribed in medical or educational settings; coverage may have caps or age limits depending on state mandates and policies. Communication issues may persist or worsen, limiting social interaction, education, and independence; nonverbal individuals may lack access to effective communication methods.

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Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

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Selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs)

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This group of antidepressants treats some problems that result from imbalances in the body's chemical systems.

SSRIs may reduce the frequency and intensity of repetitive behaviors, decrease anxiety, irritability, tantrums, and aggressive behavior, and improve eye contact. Healthcare providers typically prescribe a medication on a trial basis to determine its effectiveness.

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Family therapy and parent training programs can teach caregivers strategies to support their child's social, communication, and behavioral development. These interventions can help families understand autism, manage challenging behaviors, and promote positive interactions. These services are often highly structured and intensive and may involve caregivers, siblings, and other family members. Service providers who specialize in various intervention approaches, including behavioral, psychological, educational, occupational, physical, or speech-language therapy, can provide this particular service.

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Auditory Integration Training is a therapeutic approach designed to improve how individuals with ASD process and respond to sound by exposing them to modulated music through headphones. It aims to reduce sound sensitivity, improve focus, and support better sensory integration in individuals with auditory processing issues. Typically administered by a licensed audiologist or trained AIT practitioner.

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A consistent sleep schedule for individuals with autism can help their overall development as they get older, but also a benefit to the rest of their life. Many people with autism struggle to stay asleep through the night. With a consistent sleep schedule individuals with autism can experience a better mood, improved mental health and improved behavior and higher physical activity. This can be challenging, about a 6, to start a good bedtime/ sleep routine for children with ASD, but once started it can improve everyday. Sleep specialists, OTs, and Behavioral therapists can help set those schedules.

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In the U.S., about 4 in 100 boys and 1 in 100 girls have autism. Boys are nearly 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. The exact reasons for this difference are still being researched. Several factors are thought to contribute to this disparity, including genetic and biological differences, as well as potential biases in diagnosis.  Studies suggest that there are sex differences in brain structure and connectivity that may make males more vulnerable to autism. There's no guaranteed way to prevent autism, but there are steps parents can take to potentially reduce the risk and promote healthy development in their children.

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The likelihood of a girl being diagnosed with autism is lower than that of a boy. There's growing awareness that many autistic girls may be missed or misdiagnosed due to factors like underdiagnosis or different symptom presentations. Girls may have some protective factors that make them less likely to develop autism, even with similar genetic predispositions as boys. However, more research is needed to understand these factors fully.

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Structured play, physical activities, and sensory experiences can improve communication, social interaction, cognitive abilities, and emotional regulation. Activities play a crucial role in supporting individuals with autism by enhancing various skills and promoting overall well-being. On a scale of 1-10, this change is about a 4, with 10 being the most difficult to make. At least 20 minutes of daily activity is recommended to be effective.

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Genetic testing can help explore the genetic sequencing, like CRISPR-9, and can help identify ASD. This could lead to the possibility of prevention of ASD, or early diagnosis, in the future. early screening is an AI method that can help identify biomarkers of ASD earlier than traditional assessments. This would allow for earlier interventions and flag the potential sign of autism early.

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Neuroimaging imaging techniques like MRIs, DTI and PET scans help provide insights on the brain structure and function. This will end up helping identify the differences in the brain and the networks with individuals with ASD. Genetic testing also helps analyze DNA to identify genetic variations linked to ASD. That will provide more precise diagnostic information and can help reveal underlying genetic causes.

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Behavioral interventions can include ABA, improving social communication and even learning more skills. This is an individual area for people with ASD to work on. The challenges can be from money, accurate and well-established places to get these treatments and even individuals participating.

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One way to help reduce the risk of autism is by having good prenatal care and avoiding harmful substances like alcohol, tobacco, and certain medications during pregnancy. This can help lower the chances of things like premature birth or low birth weight, which are linked to a higher risk of autism. A challenge with this is that some people may not have access to good healthcare or may not know which substances can be harmful during pregnancy.

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Another way to reduce the effects of autism is by doing early developmental screenings for babies and toddlers. This helps doctors find signs of autism early and begin helpful therapies as soon as possible. A challenge with this is that some families may not know about early screening or may not have access to services in their area.

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Early Intervention Services are programs that provide therapy and support for young children with signs of autism, like speech or behavioral therapy. These services target the individual and help reduce the severity of symptoms when started early. A challenge is that not all families can access or afford these services, especially in rural or low-income areas.

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What primary anatomical structure(s) is/are involved in the focus condition?   What processes either cause or are affected by this condition?                                                                                  