AUTISM DISORDER
1. Context
Recently, an talks about ‘Fix your gut, fix your brain’ used to be an underrated idea, but it is today gaining in relevance as more and more research throws light on the role of the community of bacteria living in your gut, a.k.a. the gut microbiome.
2. Autism
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) a developmental disability that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. People with ASD may behave, communicate, interact, and learn in ways that are different from most other people.
- There is often nothing about how they look that sets them apart from other people.
- The abilities of people with ASD can vary significantly. For example, some people with ASD may have advanced conversation skills whereas others may be nonverbal. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives; others can work and live with little to no support.
- ASD begins before the age of 3 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.
- As children with ASD become adolescents and young adults, they may have difficulties developing and maintaining friendships, communicating with peers and adults, or understanding what behaviors are expected in school or on the job.
- They may come to the attention of healthcare providers because they also have conditions such as anxiety, depression, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, which occur more often in people with ASD than in people without ASD.
3. The forgotten organ
- Scientists reached a major milestone in the pursuit to understand human biology when they completed the Human Genome Project in April 2003.
- But they soon realised that decoding the human genome wouldn’t suffice because of the trillions of microorganisms that live in and on the human body throughout the life cycle, affecting all aspects of life.
- An offshoot of this realisation was the Human Microbiome Project, conceived in 2007 as a “second human genome project”, this time including the genes of the microbes in the microbiome as well.
- The human microbiome, sometimes called the “forgotten organ”, plays a significant role in an array of host processes, including growth, development, physiology, immunity, nutrition, and disease.
- Today, researchers’ increasingly profound exploration of the human microbiome, aided by advances in gene-sequencing technologies and high-end bioinformatic analysis, is dramatically reshaping our understanding of the connections between human health, diseases, and microbiomes.
4. Signs and Symptoms
- People with ASD often have problems with social communication and interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviors or interests.
- People with ASD may also have different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention.
- It is important to note that some people withoutASD might also have some of these symptoms. For people with ASD, these characteristics can make life very challenging.
5. Treatment
- Diagnosing can be difficult since there is no medical test, like a blood test, to diagnose the disorder.
- Doctors look at the child’s behavior and development to make a diagnosis. ASD can sometimes be detected at 18 months of age or younger.
- By age 2, a diagnosis by an experienced professional can be considered reliable.
- However, many children do not receive a final diagnosis until they are much older. 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.
For Prelims
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For Prelims: Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Human Genome Project, Microbiome
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