• Facts to Know about Autism

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    Facts to Know about Autism

    Autism is a disabling situation linked to the mental development of the individual, caused by a neurological disorder that influences brain activity. It usually manifests itself in the first three years of life. It usually concerns 1.7% of people, and this figure is quadrupled if we talk about boys instead of girls; there is no racial, social class or ethnic distinction.

    The most conservative estimations indicate that there are nowadays about 1.5 million people in the USA diagnosed with autism. This incidence ranks it as the third most common developmental disorder, even higher than Down Syndrome.

    There is no single form of autism. Therefore, we talk about Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to encompass various characteristics, symptoms and current levels. In fact, it can be said that each person has their own type of autism, because although there may be a certain pattern of behavior, in each person the symptoms manifest in different ways and with different severity, and even the evolution is different for some people to others.

    Autism spectrum disorders often cause serious social, communication, and behavioral problems. People who suffer from it, in a less seriously way, can speak and educate themselves, but they may have difficulties in certain basic tasks and behaviors, such as:

    • Express emotions. This causes them to be impassive or withdrawn.
    • Empathize with the feelings of others. As a result, they may ignore or misinterpret how a person is feeling at particular times or situations.
    • Understand social communication. They may not understand the body language or gestures of the person with whom you interact; Thus, they can do things like ignore the signs that someone is bored or angry.
    • Management of information from the senses. Noises, excessive brightness, or crowds of people can disturb them.
    • Adaptation to new habits. Change their seat to another place, have their teacher changed, etc. are some examples of everyday changes that can be difficult for them.

    As a rule, the manifestations of this disorder begin to appear around the age of two. However, as we said before, this varies from person to person. Thus, there are children who have characteristics in their childhood, such as poor eye contact, lack of reaction when called by name or impassivity towards caregivers. While, on the other hand, others develop and act normally during the first months or years of life until they suddenly become more introverted or aggressive, or lose language skills.

    In terms of characteristics and symptoms, some children have learning difficulties or have lower-than-normal intelligence traits. Others have normal to high intelligence and are fast learners, but have difficulty communicating and adapting to social situations, interacting with others, and applying their knowledge and skills in everyday life.

    All these differences, combinations of symptoms, extension, moments in which it manifests itself, etc. They make each case unique, making it difficult to determine its severity. Generally speaking, it depends on how poor the child’s mental development is and how it affects their ability to act normally.

    Here are some common signs in children under the age of two:

    • Before 12 months: Reduced eye contact. Does not react to the possibility of being picked up. He is not interested in games where there is interaction, no matter how simple.
    • 12 months: Does not babble and does not use gestures to communicate, such as pointing or saying goodbye.
    • 12-18 months: does not react by name. He does not look where others are pointing. It does not indicate to ask for things. It doesn’t show things. Has an unusual response to certain auditory stimuli.
    • 18 months: Does not use simple words.
    • 18 to 24 months: Shows delay in the use of the language. He does not imitate, neither when gesturing, nor when carrying out actions. Perform repetitive movements like opening and closing doors. Its game mode lacks functionality or icons. He is not interested in communicating with other children.
    • 24 months: Does not pronounce sentences of two or more words naturally.

    Today, the origin or cause of autism is considered the product of various factors, which means that it is caused by a combination of many different elements (environmental, biological, genetic).

    Several published studies on the effect of this or that gene in autism have shown that genes carry a lot of weight when this condition occurs. About 25% of the cases diagnosed with autism are believed to be purely genetic conditions and are directly related to some type of mutation or a specific gene. However, we still do not know the reason for these mutations or modifications in genetic information.

    In order to achieve a better understanding of the genetics of autism, studies have been carried out in families with multiple affected individuals, in identical twins with the disease and, in particular, it was observed that it affects more men than women. All of these factors bring genetic factors into the spotlight as possible culprits.

    But we shouldn’t be blinded by excitement every time new genetics news comes out, as an autism-related genetic defect has been found on nearly every chromosome, which is not surprising given that nearly 50% of our genes are involved in the functioning and development of our brain. In other words, of the 35,000 to 50,000 genes that each of us possess, 20,000 are responsible for the maturation and progress of the brain.

    Immune system deficiencies or autoimmune diseases have also been linked to the onset of autism, however, no studies have been able to confirm this link. On the contrary, rates of autoimmune diseases were observed in children with autism similar to those of normal children, both in autoimmune diseases that affect the central nervous system and in those that affect other types of system.

  • Is Bipolar Disorder curable?

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    Is Bipolar Disorder curable?

    Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that can occur chronically or episodically, which suggests that it can occur occasionally or at irregular intervals. It includes markedly serious episodes of mania and depression, extreme and fluctuating mood swings. This disorder causes dramatic ups and downs in temperament, behavior, and emotions. The first traces of the disorder occur in adolescents and young adults between the ages of 15 and 25.

    Is being found that in the teen years and early twenties that bipolar disorder starts, and it doesn’t have a cure. Bipolar disorder can be treatable, sometimes the person must be under medication lifetime. It is very often that this illness is not easily recognizable as bipolar, which leads the person to go a very long time without treatment and feel uneasy. Kids and toddlers can suffer from bipolar disorder. At this age, it is very difficult to make an accurate diagnostic because it easily mistakes with conduct disorder or attention problems. Diagnosis and careful study are necessary to achieve the correct diagnosis at this early stage. Medication and therapy can help have a better quality of life for patients suffering from this disease. 

    Extreme mood swings’ race is a red flag since this is subnormal conduct and way of feeling. These ups and downs can go from extreme happiness and euphoria to periods of sadness and depressive episodes. They are called manic episodes and depressive episodes. Bipolar disorder is also known as manic depressive disorder and depression manic. 

    Bipolar or bipolar disorder has different types and special characteristics of the illness: 

    BIPOLAR DISORDER I: 

    Its present maniac episodes lasting one week or longer of extreme happiness and euphoria, in some cases very severe that need hospitalization. Then, at the opposite pole of emotions, it can be found major depressive episodes that last 15 days or longer. 

    BIPOLAR DISORDER II: 

    In this type of bipolar, we find mania and depression. The person suffering from this type of bipolar has a major depressive episode after a manic episode that is not as intense as bipolar 1. 

    CYCLOTHYMIC DISORDER: 

    The characteristics of this type of bipolar can last 2 years or more on each mania or depression stage. In children, each stage can last for one year. 

    OTHER TYPES: 

    People that have a drug addiction and suffer from alcoholism can experience symptoms that do not necessarily fall into the prior categories. This type of bipolar comes from the behavior of the person and the brain deterioration. 

    Most of the people in the manic stage can spend more money, cheat, take risks where life is in danger to feel the rush. After this episode, returning to a normal mood, the person can face the depressive phase, the mood change, and start feeling depressed. During this stage, the person may feel sad, have difficulty making decisions, face memory issues, even have suicidal thoughts.

    The mood of bipolar people can be from low to high. It may start gradually and take several days to reach the maximum of the feeling; however, in some cases, it is possible that it comes in hours or even minutes and, in both cases can last hours, days, or months, and in rare cases even years.  

    The way bipolar people must achieve a good quality of life often is by taking medication daily. These medications are named mood stabilizers, as the name said they can make the swinging moods of the person more stable and less far up or very low. Another type is antipsychotics that can control the person on the stage of a maniac, lower the euphoria to a normal emotion where the person can be in control of their emotions. Antidepressants are drugs used in the depressive phase; however, they can trigger a manic episode in some individuals. Antidepressants can level up the sadness and lower emotions to a normal range, where the person can function in their normal life fully. All and every type of medication for bipolar people must be carefully prescribed by a specialist and a doctor. They need to be obtained by a prescription in the pharmacy. Having this said is imperative that the patient use this medication with caution and exactly how they were prescribed.

    Therapy and counseling are very good tools for the person and the family, they can improve the quality of life of the nucleus and give them procedures to perform on each phase of the person inside an episode. With therapy, a bipolar person can learn how to develop a healthy relationship inside a marriage, church, or community. They can learn how to handle the ups and downs of the illness, without affecting their relationships. 

    The most important action a bipolar person can do is a lifestyle change, hating healthy, exercising, having hobbies that make them relax and unwind. Getting enough sleep is also very important because here is where the brain repair and create new neurological connections. 

    A radical change of moods, depression and deep sadness, extreme euphoria and happiness, narcissism and anxiety, impulsivity at the time of making decisions, recklessness, exaggerated irritability to name a few symptoms where bipolar disorder can be seen and acknowledged.  

    It is always advisable to seek medical help when you suspect the presence of any mental condition on you or a family member or a friend, self-medication or self-diagnosis is not recommended in any case, always seek help from a health professional.

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