Psych Lit Review

Why do Autism’s causal agents produce such a wide array of different disorders? Autism is a disorder known by its phenotype, it’s observable behaviours, most notably: inhibition of social ability, lack of communication, and a lack of imagination/curiosity.

When witnessing, or interacting with, an ASD afflicted child, basic social cues are missing from the contact. (Any, few, or all of these can be present, as the Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are a group of heterogeneous disorders that share various degrees of each trait, [or none at all in certain cases]). The child might prefer to be alone; have an aloof manner; might neglect to make eye contact; won’t get involved with others in the same way his peers do. A lack of communication is also a common scope of phenotypic ASD traits. The child will not develop speaking ability; he might communicate only with gestures; he might repeat words and phrases continuously; he will only speak on very narrow topics, and he will have difficulty talking about abstract concepts. And the third broad category of atypical symptoms is a lack of imaginative thought; they lack that key childlike curiosity towards new things. Children with an ASD will obsess with toys of a particular kind; might only eat certain foods; dislikes changes in their environment; and basking in repetitive motor movements.

            There has been debate for many years, as with many topics in psychology, as to how much genetics plays a part in the spectrum vs. how much nurture plays a part in the spectrum. Coming from a viewpoint that generally considers both of these factors as significant, I take a more specific, inclusive approach with the research: I’m looking to explain precisely what the relationship is, and describe how it functions to produce a child with an ASD.

            I will also attempt to connect the general knowledge of ASD’s with cutting edge research that’s being done on its causes: current genetic information that’s available, current research on teratogenic effects, and case studies of ASD affected children that give us valuable information about the aforementioned topics.

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&sid=84ddb562-eb40-4685-a43a-c6a65adf4132%40sessionmgr4004&hid=4112