Information & Online Website Links | November 6, 2009

 

• Autism is a brain development disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behaviour.
• People with Autism have trouble with everyday social interaction, communication and imagination.
• Children show signs of Autism before they reach three years of age.
• Asperger Syndrome and PDD-NOS are two other disorders under the Autism Spectrum.
• Researchers believe that a combination of genetics and environmental factors cause Autism.
• There is no cure for Autism. There are methods and therapies that help deal with the symptoms.

 

• Down syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.
• It is often associated with some impairment of cognitive ability, physical growth and facial appearance.
• It occurs in approximately 1 per 800 -1000 births.

• Rett syndrome is a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by normal early development followed by loss of purposeful use of the hands, distinctive hand movements, slowed brain and head growth, gait abnormalities, seizures and mental retardation.
• It cannot be cured.
• It affects females almost exclusively.
• The disorder was identified by Dr. Andreas Rett, an Austrian physician, who first described it in a journal article in 1966. It was not until 1983 that the disorder was more generally recognized.
• It affects one in every 10,000 to 15,000 live female births.
• Caused by a mutation on the MECP2 gene of the X chromosome.

• Cerebral Palsy refers to any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and permanently affect body movement and muscle coordination but don’t worsen over time. It is caused by abnormalities in parts of the brain that control muscle movements.
• It cannot be cured.
• Characterized by an inability to fully control motor function, particularly muscle control and coordination.
• There are three main types: spastic, stiff and difficult movement, athetoid, involuntary and uncontrolled movement, ataxic, disturbed sense of balance and depth perception.

• Occurs when children have not reached specific milestones by the expected time period. For example, if the normal range for learning to walk is between nine and 15 months, and a 20-month-old child has still not begun walking, this is considered a developmental delay.

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