Mild "High Functioning" Autism

About one in 500 children are diagnosed with the developmental disability known as autism and, more recently, the related conditions Asperger Syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder. However, there is increasing evidence that many highfuncioning individuals may suffer from "shadow syndromes" of these disorders. A person with some form of autism is affected in four major ways: severe difficulties with talking to and understanding other people; great trouble with friendships, relationships and other social interaction; unusual behaviour, frequent tantrums and a great need for routine and sameness; poorly developed sensory integration: their environment is a confusing place to be part of.

Subgroups and related disorders There is no adjective which can be used to describe every type of person with autism because there are many forms of this disorder. For example, some individuals are anti-social, some are asocial, and others are social. Some are aggressive toward themselves and/or aggressive toward others. Approximately half have little or no language, some repeat (or echo) words and/or phrases, and others may have normal language skills. Since there are no physiological tests at this time to determine whether a person has autism, the diagnosis of autism is given when an individual displays a number of characteristic behaviors. In the last five years, research has shown that many people who engage in autistic behaviors have related but distinct disorders. These include: Asperger Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, and Williams Syndrome. Asperger Syndrome is characterized by concrete and literal thinking, obsession with certain topics, excellent memories, and being 'eccentric.' These individuals are considered high-functioning and are capable of holding a job and of living independently. Fragile X Syndrome is a form of mental retardation in which the long arm on the X chromosome is constricted. Approximately 15% of people with Fragile X Syndrome exhibit autistic behaviors. These behaviors include: delay in speech/language, hyperactivity, poor eye contact, and hand-flapping. The majority of these individuals function at a mild to moderate level. As they grow older, their unique physical facial features may become more prominent (e.g., elongated face and ears), and they may develop heart problems. People with Landau-Kleffner Syndrome also exhibit many autistic behaviors, such as social withdrawal, insistence on sameness, and language problems. These individuals are often thought of as having 'regressive' autism because they appear to be normal until sometime between ages 3 and 7. They often have good language skills in early childhood but gradually lose their ability to talk. They also have abnormal brain wave patterns which can be diagnosed by analyzing their EEG pattern during an extended sleep period. Rett Syndrome is a degenerative disorder which affects mostly females and usually develops between 1/2 to 1 1/2 years of age. Some of their characteristic behaviors include: loss of speech, repetitive hand-wringing, body rocking, and social withdrawal. Those individuals suffering from this disorder may be severely to profoundly mentally retarded. Williams Syndrome is characterized by several autistic behaviors including: developmental and language delays, sound sensitivity, attention deficits, and social problems. In contrast to many autistic individuals, those with Williams Syndrome are quite sociable and have heart problems. Causes Although there is no known unique cause of autism, there is growing evidence that autism can be caused by a variety of problems. There is some indication of a genetic influence in autism. For example, there is a greater likelihood that two monozygotic twins (i.e., identical twins) will have autism than two dizygotic twins (i.e., fraternal twins). In the case of monozygotic twins, there is a 100% overlap in genes; whereas in dizygotic twins, there is a 50% overlap in genes, the same overlap as in non-twin siblings. In a survey conducted in Utah, researchers identified 11 families in which the father had autism. Of the 11 families, there was a total of 44 offspring, 25 of whom were diagnosed as having autism. Other research has shown that depression and/or dyslexia are quite common in one or both sides of the family when autism is present.

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