1

COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Name:
Institution

2
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Abstract
The research proposal is aimed at finding out whether young children stand a chance of living
normal lives after detection and treatment of autism. The research proposal is to be carried out to
help curb the increasing day to day cases of autism spectrum disorder in all corners of the world.
The cause of autism has not yet been established or proven scientifically although some scientists
have linked the disorder to arise from genetic compositions of parents. Autism causes a
noticeable societal withdraw of individuals. Autism can be detected in the early childhood
between two and three years in children and becomes more sophisticated in adults. Autism in
adults can only be verified from tests as the symptoms may be similar with those of people
suffering from mental disorders. The research proposal will involve the collection of data from
different sources including from families with children suffering the disorder and parents who
have children suffering from autism. The methods used to carry out the research will include
interviews, surveys, and observations. The obtained results will be analyzed with the use of SPSS
and Excel to identify common trends. The analysis will also seek to identify the correlation
between stage identification and drug effectiveness of autism victims. The analyzed study will
then be sent to the autism victims via email addresses obtained during the interviews. To protect
the confidentiality of the autism victims both the interviewer and the interviewee will sign a nondisclosure agreement to ensure that no names will be released to the press for publication.
Autism disorder cases are rising at an alarming rate and the sooner the cause is found the sooner
we will be able to avert the danger that now faces us. We as the world should unite and in one
accord fight this menace that threatens a generation. With regard to this, the Centers for Disease
and Control Prevention has donated $27 million to a research to study more about autism and
come up with appropriate techniques for prevention and early diagnosis.

3
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Definition of Terms
ToM Theory of mind
C.D.C Center for Disease Control Prevention
SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Science

4
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Introduction
Autism Spectrum Disorder is the term used in the description of a group of prevalent
disorders with main impairments occurring in social relationships, communication, the flexibility
of thought and restricted repetition of activity and interest. The victims of the disorder may
display social indifferences such as refusing to play with other children or joining only when
coerced by adults. Children suffering from Autism may experience difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, some may not talk at all (Autism Victoria, 2010). Autism disorders are
caused by improper brain development. Autism disorders are majorly associated with intellectual
disability, difficulties in motor coordination and attention and also disturbances by the
gastrointestinal parts. However, despite the challenges faced by people suffering from autism a
group of the people suffering from autism excel in music, art, math and visual skills. Autism
symptoms are not detected until an early age of 2 and three years. (Canada, 2016). Autism
disorders are referred to as a Spectrum due to their tendency of occurring as a group of
conditions. There are three subtypes of autism namely autistic disorder, Aspergers syndrome,
and pervasive development disorder. (Autism Victoria, 2010) . Autism affects one out of every
68 children in the United States (Web Medical, 2016). It is, however, unclear whether the
increased detection of the autism rise in the population emanates from the better detection
systems in place or an actual increase in autism cases. Early detection autism is vital for every
child suffering from the disorder as this will assist in the adoption of methods that will lead to
significant gains in language learning and development of skills for social interaction. (Web
Medical, 2016). The Center for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) will invest more than $27

5
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
million to expand knowledge in the area of Autism disorder in children. This research will assist
laboratories to identify causes and reasons for autism disorder using children volunteers who are
suffering from the disease. (C.D.C, 2016)
Statement of the Problem
Autism levels in the world are increasing at an alarming rate while detection systems
are becoming better by the day. However, the lines on how to live with autism grow more and
more blurred as most parents are not taught how to handle the disease. Increased stigmatization
has led many parents not to come out for help as many of them believe in the current societal
myths that the autism condition is caused by something they did or did not do. (Autism Victoria,
2010) . While the government strives to identify how autism can be treated or how it can be
avoided the victims continuously continue to suffer unclear of what to do with their individual
lives. This research paper aims to answer the question whether children discovered to be
suffering from autism can continuously live healthy lives like their friends who are not suffering
from the autism disorder. This research is despite the fact that autism disorder victims experience
communication and social impairments.
Purpose of the Study
The goal of this study is to determine whether early detection of the autism spectrum
syndrome in the early stages in children can lead to them living healthy lives like children who
do not have the autism disorder. This study aims to identify whether there are a survival and
success curve in children who are diagnosed with autism. The study also seeks to determine
whether children diagnosed with autism can develop skills that can help them overcome their
impairments to live more normal lives like other people.

6
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Research Question
For the purpose of this study the following questions will be addressed:
Does early detection of autism in children lead to improved social interaction and language skills
as compared to late autism screening?
Hypothesis
From a point of view, it is likely possible that early autism detection can lead to better chances of
assistance which may result in improved language and social interaction skills
Theoretical Framework
The theory of mind hypothesis of autism states that individuals suffering from autism
fail to attribute mental states to themselves and people surrounding them (Henry D. Schlinger,
2009) and that this failure of taking note of their mental states leads to their failure to take note
of the mental states of individuals who surround them. The theoretical test used a doll which was
used to tell the location of the object where the victim was told to deduce the state of mind of the
doll (what the doll thinks). Baron Cohen found out that 80 percent of victims who were suffering
from autism failed this test and this proved the deficiency in the theory of mind. (SIMON
BARON-COHEN, 2000)
The theory of Executive Dysfunction in Autism was discovered by scholars who
associated some symptoms of autism to similar to symptoms arising from patients who had brain
injuries. Contrary to the theory of mind the theory explains that autism leads to a disruption of
the executive functions due to damage to the frontal lobe of the brain. Executive function is the

7
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
ability to uphold a suitable decision-making set to achieve a future goal. Executive function is
comprised of planning behavior, control of impulse, organized searches, and flexibility both in
action and thought. (Gnanathusharan Rajendran, 2006). In tests of executive memory participants
have to shift focus between reaction sets conferring to an arbitral rule. In an example of
Wisconsin card sorting task, a participant needs to say yes when a card with color red is
turned. The participant should also say no when a card with black color is turned. The other
rule of the game is that the participant should say yes if the card chosen is the same color as
the previously picked card; otherwise, the victim should say no. (Gnanathusharan Rajendran,
2006)
The Weak Central Coherence theory gives an explanation of the non-social and social
aspects of the autism spectrum disorder. The theory tries to explain the minor details that range
from sophistry to fascination that affects people suffering from autism. The theory explains that
developing human beings process information in the brain by first extracting what the overall
meaning of the information (Gnanathusharan Rajendran, 2006). Researchers suggest that
individuals suffering from autism lack the drive for universal coherence. This infers that autism
individuals process messages in constituent fragments rather than wholly as normal minds. In an
experiment known as visual spatial coherence, it was observed that children suffering from
autism scored the tests above normally on kids embedded figures. It was observed that children
suffering from autism were faster to reproduce forty unique block designs than studying controls
of the neurotype. The visual spatial coherence experiments are made of figures that can be
segmented to provide smaller integral modules. As a result of central coherence in the
neurotypical individuals the smaller components are not as greater as the bigger shape.

8
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Individuals suffering from autism, however, have a different view where the smaller segments to
them are more conspicuous than the greater bigger shape. (Gnanathusharan Rajendran, 2006)

Literature Review
The word autism is derived from the Greek word autos which means self. The
naming was done to the fact that the disorder causes an individual to withdraw from social
interaction (Oberman, 2006).
Autism early detection
Detection of autism disorder in the early stages is crucial as treatment and proper care can be
administered to a victim to reduce the difficulties and increase the persons ability to maximize
their abilities. There is no best treatment or cure for autism but drugs can help slow down and
reduce the effects caused by autism if early detection is done. (Scientific American, 2015).
Scientists have not figured out the actual causes of autism however it is speculated that genetic
composition may be the actual cause of the disorder. There are no scientific pieces of evidence in
place that have linked autism disorder with vaccines (Autism Victoria, 2010)
Theory of mind
Recent studies suggest that the above mentioned study is the best to identify autism disorders. It
is suggested that the theory of mind models and simulates an analog model of any agent in the
environment. (Psychology, 2015) This suggestions may be upheld as true since the researchers
working on the theory suggested that the children with autism could not recreate the mental state
of the dolls.
The Weak Coherence Theory

9
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
The theorys understanding is based on information processing by the brain. A study conducted
by a researcher revealed that autism individuals overly rely on details. The overreliance comes at
the expense of understanding the actual meaning of the situation or context. (Roth, 2010)
Methodology
The data collection method will involve the use of both interviews and surveys. The
interviews will be carried on the parents of children who have the autism disorder and adults
living with autism. The interviews will involve both open ended and closed ended questions in
order to build a relationship of trust between the interviewer and the respondent.
Surveys will be carried out on a limited and specific individuals suffering from
autism. The aim of the survey will be to discover what their childhood was like and if at all
anything changed when adulthood set in. The survey will also seek to find the different
challenges associated with living with autism.
Research Design
The research designs that will be used for this research will be the use of observation
and surveys. The researcher will travel to homes and facilities that have autism disorder to
observe the disorder in the children and interview the handlers of the children. A survey to
identify the most affected areas will be carried out by the researcher.
Instrumentation
These are the instruments that will be used in the course of the research period for purposes of
the study.

Tape Recorder

10
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
A tape recorder will be used to record the interviews in order to prevent data corruption by the
interviewer. The use of a tape recorder is for purposes of re-evaluating the data to find critical
information that may be forgotten when information was being gathered.
Data Collection and Analysis procedure
The data collected from the interviews, observation, and surveys will be tallied and
brought in for analysis. The data will be analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS to identify
trends and patterns of occurrences of the disorder and the recovery cases comparison. The
analysis will involve the chances of having a normal life back after diagnosis and treatment,
especially in children. A comparison of early detection and treatment will also be contrasted to
later detection and subsequently late treatment.
Protection of Human Rights
To protect the families and the individuals who take part in the research the names of
the individuals will not be published by any source and cannot be used in any source. Both the
interviewer and the interviewee are to sign a non-disclosure agreement in effect to this. The
respondent is allowed to leave the interview and withdraw from the study anytime they feel. The
participants of the survey will receive the analyzed reports via email when the research is
complete.
Discussion
The study will assist future scholars to draw lines of argument between early diagnosis of Autism
and the positive impact that the diagnosis may have in the life of the autism victim. This research
will assist scholars to identify relationships between autism development and measures that can
be taken to weaken its severe effects. The research proposal, however, does not cover possible

11
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
ways to cure autism its causes and whether vaccines can be administered to prevent autism
disorders.

Budget
The project research is approximated to cost around $1000 from its beginning to its end. The
amount will cater for the miscellaneous expenses and costs that will be met throughout the study.
Conclusion
With the rapid spread and increased autism disorder cases, we are objected to carrying out more
and more research in the autism field to prevent if at all we cannot cure the pandemic that is day
by day spreading like wildfire in a savanna grassland. We are already experiencing autism and
this is nothing we cant escape the only difference we can make is assist the affected victims.
Sensitization campaigns against stigmatization of autism individuals and donations to cater for
heavy medical bills incurred in the process of treatment. All said and done all we can do and
hope for is a future where there will be vaccines and full treatment of the autism spectrum
disorder.

References
Autism Victoria. (2010). Autism Spectrum Disorders : Information Pack. 24 Drummond St,
Carlton,: Amaze Organisation.
C.D.C, C. F. (2016, July 5). Seed funding for autism disorder. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov:
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/features/seed-funding.html

12
COPING WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Canada, A. S. (2016). What Is Autism. Retrieved from http://www.autismspeaks.ca:
http://www.autismspeaks.ca/about-autism/what-is-autism/
Gnanathusharan Rajendran, P. M. (2006). Cognitive theories of autism. Edinburgh: The
University of Edinburgh, Holyrood Road.
Henry D. Schlinger. (2009). Theory of Mind: An Overview and Behavioural Perspective.
California State University, Los Angeles.
Oberman, V. S. (2006). Broken Mirrors. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
Psychology, I. E. (2015). Theory of Mind. Retrieved from www.iep.utm.edu:
www.iep.utm.edu/theomind
Roth, I. (2010). The Autism Spectrum in the 21st Century.
Scientific American, I. (2015). Autism Spectrum disorder. U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services.
SIMON BARON-COHEN, A. M. (2000). Does the autistic child have a theory of mind? MRC
Cognitive Development Unit, London.
Web Medical. (2016). Autism Spectrum Disorders Symptoms,Causes,Types and Treatment.
Retrieved from www.webmd.com: http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/autismspectrum-disorders#1