Autism is a condition that affects millions of people around the world. Although it can present challenges and hurdles, it also brings unique strengths and perspectives. Every April Autism Speaks celebrates World Autism Month, beginning with the UN-sanctioned World Autism Awareness Day on April 2.

This day serves as a critical reminder of the millions of individuals and families living with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The day is set aside to raise awareness, promote acceptance, and celebrate the unique strengths and experiences of autistic people. The theme for World Autism Awareness Day 2024 is ‘Moving from Surviving to Thriving: Autistic Individuals Share Regional Perspectives’. This theme goes beyond just raising awareness of autism. It emphasises the importance of moving the conversation forward, from simply understanding autism to creating an environment in which autistic people can truly thrive.

What is Autism?

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviours or interests.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adds that people with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention. It is important to note that some people without ASD might also have some of these symptoms. But for people with ASD, these characteristics can make life very challenging.

The abilities of people with ASD can vary significantly. For example, some people with ASD may have advanced conversation skills, whereas others may be non-verbal. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives, while others can work and live with little to no support.

ASD begins before the age of three years and can last throughout a person’s life, although symptoms may improve over time. Some children show ASD symptoms within the first 12 months of life. In others, symptoms may not show up until 24 months of age or later. Some children with ASD gain new skills and meet developmental milestones until around 18 to 24 months of age, and then they stop gaining new skills or lose the skills they once had.

Signs and Symptoms

Signs of ASD may include delayed language skills, delayed cognitive or learning skills, as well as unusual eating and sleeping habits. Other noticeable signs include avoiding or not maintaining eye contact, not responding to name by nine months of age, not noticing other children or joining them in play by 36 months of age.

Diagnosing ASD can be difficult since there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder. Doctors have to examine the child’s behaviour and development to make a diagnosis. ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger. By age two a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered reliable. However, many children do not receive a final diagnosis until they are much older. And some people are not diagnosed until they are adolescents or adults. This delay means that people with ASD might not get the early help they need.

Treatment

Current treatments for ASD seek to reduce symptoms that interfere with daily functioning and quality of life. ASD affects each person differently, meaning that people with ASD have unique strengths and challenges and different treatment needs. Therefore, treatment plans usually involve multiple professionals and are catered towards the individual.

Treatments can be given in education, health, community, or home settings, or a combination of settings. It is important that providers communicate with each other and the people with ASD and their family to ensure that treatment goals and progress are meeting expectations.

Developmental Approaches

Developmental approaches focus on improving specific developmental skills, such as language and physical skills or a broader range of interconnected developmental abilities. Developmental approaches are often combined with behavioural approaches.

The most common developmental therapy for people with ASD is speech and language therapy. This helps to improve the person’s understanding and use of speech and language. Some people with ASD communicate verbally. Others may communicate through the use of signs, gestures, pictures, or an electronic communication device.

Occupational therapy teaches skills that help the person live as independently as possible by learning how to, among other things, dress, feed, and bathe themselves as well as understanding how to relate to people.

Gender-Based Reasons

One thing which has remained relatively constant over the years is the fact that ASD affects boys more than girls. It is reported that ASD affects boys two to five times higher than it does girls.

Experts have now theorised the possible gender-based reasons for this difference. In a report published in the
JAMA Psychiatry, scientists point to one possible explanation for the discrepancy. They know that some structures in the brain differ between the sexes. One is the thickness of the cortex, the brain’s outer layer that is embedded with nerves involved in memory, thinking, language, and other higher cognitive functions. Men tend to have thinner cortex measurements, while women tend to have thicker ones, and this difference is a pretty reliable way to distinguish males from females.

Taking advantage of this knowledge, Christine Ecker, a professor of neuroscience and brain imaging at Goethe University in Germany, and her colleagues compared the cortical thickness on brain MRIs among 98 adults with ASD and 98 people without the disorder. The thinner the cortex, regardless of gender, the more likely the person was to have ASD. Even for the women with thinner, more male-like cortical thickness readings, the risk of ASD was three times higher than for women with thicker measurements more in line with unaffected women.

In Pursuit of Inclusivity

Unfortunately, in spite of all the information available regarding autism, there are so many unknown variables regarding this developmental disorder.

Many parents struggle daily to adjust to the reality that their child may be autistic. It is also rather expensive to treat adequately a child who has been diagnosed with autism. Some children who are at the lower end of the spectrum might not need as much intervention as those who are at the highest end of the spectrum.

The autistic journey can be quite lonely for both the autistic child and his/her parents. It is for this reason that parents and guardians need to reach out for support in their communities and the wider society. In Jamaica, the Jamaica Autism Support Association provides support for parents of children diagnosed with ASD. Much more can and should be done.

One of the most recognisable symbols of World Autism Awareness Day is the colour blue. In support of World Autism Day many landmarks, buildings, and monuments around the world will be illuminated with blue lights to raise awareness.

On this World Autism Day, let us redouble our efforts to build a more inclusive and compassionate world. In the words of Elaine Hall, founder of the Miracle Project: “It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a child with autism to raise the consciousness of that village.”

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or waykam@yahoo.com.