Disorders

Autism Autism it is a serious disorder that begins in infancy and is characterized by abnormal social development, impaired language and communication, and repetitive behavior. The diagnosis of autism is based on “observed behavior and educational and psychological testing (Autism Speaks).” When trying to determine whether a child is autistic or not there are a number of signs that parents and observers can watch for. Children that have poor eye contact, little interest in other people, and do not respond to their name are considered to be autistic. Other signs involve the child having trouble with their speech. This could mean no babbling or no speech at all by 16 months. If a child does not gesture or point at things as in showing you something their interested in or possibly want by a certain age then they may also be considered autistic. Autism begins in early brain development and obvious sign may occur between 2 and 3 years of age.
Genetics seems to be the most responsible for autism. “Many genes on several chromosomes have been implicated; in some cases genes related to neural communication appear to have been copied to many times or left out during meiosis (Carol K. Singleman, Elizabeth A. Rider).” Meiosis is the process of a reproductive cell in the mother’s ovaries or in the father’s testes that contains 46 chromosomes splitting into two 46 chromosome cells. Once this division process is complete then those two chromosomes split again to form a total of four cells and then distribute 23 chromosomes in each cell. “The end product is one egg in the female or four sperm in the male. Each resulting sperm cell or ovum thus has only one member of each of the parents 23 chromosomes (Carol K. Singleman, Elizabeth A. Rider).” Chromosomes are made up of genes which are the basic units of heredity. Each gene that an individual inherits provides instructions that produce amino acids which then forms proteins that are essential to the neurotransmitters in the brain. A large amount of autistic children display neurological abnormalities. According to Singleman and Rider, it was once hypothesized that neurons in the frontal cortex proliferate wildly during the early sensitive period for the brain development but do not become properly interconnected. Almost all dysfunctions that pertain to an autistic child involve some form of mental processing. This then leads to the mirror neuron simulation hypothesis which is another possible cause of autism. This view seems to direct the cause to malfunctions of mirror neuron systems. If there are problems associated with this system in a variety of areas in the brain then this could be the reason why autistic patients have trouble with imitation, theory-of-mind skills, empathy, and language. Mirror neuron systems provide us with the ability to read other people’s feelings and thoughts by comparing them to our own feelings and thoughts that we have experienced. By doing this there is a connection made between you and the other person. “In one study (Mclntosh et al.,2006), autistic and non-autistic adults watched pictures of happy and angry facial expressions so that the researchers could see if their faces automatically and subtly mimicked the expressions that they saw (Carol K. Singleman, Elizabeth A. Rider).” This allows researchers to see how mirror neurons allow individuals to simulate other people’s emotions. Autistic children can display this when their asked to do so, but they will not do it spontaneously. In result, this is a way of proving that autistic individuals have dysfunctions in their mirror neurons. Autistic individuals have a difficult time with certain executive functions. These functions are included in the prefrontal cortex of the brain and allow us to plan, change flexibility from one course of actions to another, and inhibit actions. Some neurobiological theorists believe that this could be the cause of their repetitive behavior. Autism then seems to be a pervasive disorder. Treatments for this disorder include more physical and psychological therapy than anything. It would be nice to think that these children can just take some sort of “magic pill” and all their dysfunctions will go away, but that option does not exist. “Some autistic children are given drugs to control behavioral problem such as hyperactivity and/or obsessive-compulsive behavior, drugs that help then benefit from educational programs but do not cure autism (Carol K. Singleman, Elizabeth A. Rider).” Autism has not yet been able to be fully treated to where an individual is no longer autistic. However, there are many helpful treatment programs that provide higher functioning qualities in the individual. One of which is the applied behavior analysis (ABA). This is one of the most recommended treatment methods for autism spectrum disorders. ABA uses the technique of positive reinforcement “to strengthen a behavior by arranging for it to be followed by something of value has been used to develop a wide range of skills in learners with and without disabilities (Autism Speaks).” Many analysts use positive reinforcement and other techniques to build academic, play, communication, social, self-care, work, and living skills to decrease behavioral problems in autism. Their way of teaching these skills to autistic children involves breaking down each skill into steps allowing them to see each aspect of that skill. After they have repeatedly practiced in a variety of different settings they will become more functional and capable of performing whatever skill is being taught to them. The goal ABA strives to meet is to enable their patients to function independently and successfully in a variety of environments. Another treatment technique that is used to help the development of autistic individuals is occupational therapy. This technique focuses on the child/adults quality of life. “The aim is to maintain, improve, or introduce skills that allow an individual to participate as independently as possible in meaningful life activities (autism Speaks).” Coping skills, fine motor skills, play skills, self-help skills, and socialization are the main types of skills that determine a person’s quality of life. With occupational therapy an autistic patient can be aided at home or in some sort of school setting. They will be taught activities such as dressing, grooming, feeding, social skills, gross motor coordination, fine motor skills, and much more everyday life skills. This will help increase their social, play and learning skills allowing them to function successfully in everyday life. Last but not least, Pivotal Response Treatment (PTR) is a treatment opportunity that helps people with autism improve their language, communications, behavior, and academics skills. PTR is a child-directed technique that uses motivational strategies such as varying tasks, revisiting mastered tasks, rewarding attempts, and direct natural reinforcement. The goal is to improve social skills, behavioral skills, play skills communication skills and the child’s ability to monitor their own behavior.

Eating Disorders Eating disorders tend to have a bigger effect on adolescent girls either during the transition from child to adolescent or the transition from adolescent to adulthood. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are two types of eating disorders that disproportionately strike teen girls and adult women. “Both are serious indeed, potentially fatal conditions that are difficult to cure (Carol K. Singleman, Elizabeth A. Rider).” Anorexia nervosa is when someone has a nervous loss of appetite and refuses to maintain a weight that is at least 85% of their expected weight. Individuals that are anorexic have a strong fear of becoming overweight, a distorted body image, and if they are women they will experience an absence of a regular menstrual cycle. An individual who is anorexic may begin dieting and exercising not long after they have reached puberty. Once they have figured out how to lose their unwanted weight they become obsessed with whatever exercise or diet plan that caused them to lose the weight. Fewer than 3 out of every 1000 adolescent girls suffer from anorexia. “Anorexia can be distinguished from bulimia nervosa, the so-called binge-purge syndrome (Carol K. Singleman, Elizabeth A. Rider).” People who suffer from this disorder consume large quantities of food and then perform purging activities such as self- induced vomiting, use of laxatives, rigid dieting, or starving themselves. Bulimia nervosa includes individuals with normal or above normal body weight who regularly engage in binge eating episodes followed by self-induced vomiting. Bulimia has more of an effect on late adolescent females than any other age group or gender. Bulimic victims binge on food that is taboo to dieters. For example, they may consume a whole gallon of ice cream, a bag of cookies, a whole pie, or bags of potato chips during one single binge session. Bulimic individuals are not always considered to be underweight their weight can actually be found in all weight ranges. One of the major causes of eating disorders is the media. When someone is unhappy with their weight and they see a skinny curvy girl on TV or a body building man they tend to desire to look like that girl or that man. Women are the number one victims for eating disorders. From early childhood until late adulthood women tend to always worry about their weight. As a child they were given ultrathin Barbie dolls with unattainable body proportions. Things like this cause young girls to be dissatisfied about their bodies. Also, shows such as Americas Next Top Model can drive someone into anorexia or bulimia. Models have perfect body proportions, maintain a low weight, and are extremely beautiful. What girl wouldn’t want that? According to Bandura, humans are cognitive beings whose active processing of information plays a critical role in their learning, behavior, and development. He believes that individuals reinforce or punish themselves with mental pats on the back or self-criticism which tend to affect their behavior. If he were asked why someone where anorexic or bulimic this is would be his answer. Eating disorders also tend to tend to be inheritable. “Relatives of someone with anorexia nervosa are over 10 times more likely to have an eating disorder themselves than relatives of someone without anorexia nervosa (NAMI).” Therefore, genetics also plays a role in the causation of eating disorders. Perfectionism, neuroticism, low self-esteem, and social isolation are the common personality traits that are associated with anorexic individuals. A theorist by the name of Sigmund Freud would say that someone suffers from an eating disorder because their “supply of psychic energy is unevenly disturbed among the id, ego, and superego.” He would suggest someone with anorexia or bulimia has a very weak or overly strong superego. This involves the individual’s internalized moral standards. For example, a woman with an overly strong superego may not get undressed in front of her husband because she was made to feel ashamed about any interest she took in her body when she was a child. There are many treatment programs for people with eating disorders. “Early diagnosis and intervention significantly enhance recovery (NAED).” Bulimic individuals tend to respond better to treatment than individuals with anorexia. Behavior modification programs and individual psychotherapy work well for individuals with anorexia nervosa. The behavior modification program helps them maintain their eating disorder, gain weight, and cope with any medical problems they may have. Once they have met this step they can move onto the individual psychotherapy to help them understand that they have a problem and need to control it. Women that are anorexic tend to be harder to treat because in their minds there is nothing wrong with them. However, many people that enter a treatment program overcome their eating disorder or show some kind of improvement. Bulimic individuals seek treatment through cognitive behavioral therapy and depression medication. Cognitive-behavioral therapy helps individuals with unhealthy eating behaviors and the thoughts that cause them. “The most effective and long-lasting treatment for an eating disorder is some form of psychotherapy or counseling, coupled with careful attention to medical and nutritional needs (NAED).” Treatment must address the symptoms of the disorder and any psychological, biological, or interpersonal forces that contribute to the disorder. The exact treatment varies among each individual. However, fewer than half of the people who are treated for an eating disorder fully recover from it.