Autism is defined as "a neurological disorder that impedes language and derails social and emotional development." (Cowley 46) Also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD, it has often been misdiagnosed in the past, or not diagnosed at all. However, due to new research, more cases are being found and treated. According to Cowley, "Experts now suspect that one person in 160 lives with some degree of autism. That's three to four times the rate in the 1970s."
There has not been a lot of discovery in what may cause ASD, however studies taken place at the University of California in San Diego revealed some possible leads. Neuroscientist, Eric Courchesne, led a team that researched medical charts of 48 Autistic children and compared the findings to national norms. They found that the children's head size at birth was rather small, however grew at an increasing pace within the first year. "Autism, the new findings suggest, is not a sudden calamity that strikes children at the age......
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Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |