It has been identified that about one in 88 children have been born with autism spectrum disorder according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Statistics show that over 2 million people in the United States alone are affected by this. This proportion of people with autism spectrum disorder in expected to increase from 10 to 17 percent annually due to the fact of wider awareness and proper screening although there is still a mystery why the continued increase still haunts us. It is not fully known how this horrible disorder manifests but with current research showing that it is likely due to a complex combination of genetic predispositions and environmental factors that have influenced early brain development. Either advanced ages of either parents at the moment of conception, maternal illness during the pregnancy, extreme prematurity or very low birth weight. Fortunately not every child develops these types of neuro-developmental disorders. The effects of maternal immune activation involves the strength of fighting infection and genetic predisposition.
My sister had given birth to a child with autism spectrum disorder in 2000. We were so happy to welcome a beautiful little boy in our family. All ten fingers and ten toes were all we needed. As he grew, things were different...like that angel was battling something inside of him that we could not figure out. My sister went to doctor after doctor, administering him medicine that I couldn't even pronounce. It seemed that my sister was going stir-crazy trying to find what was the matter with her son. But my sister *did* find out what was wrong with her son. Like so many other loving parents, my sister did not give up on finding out what was affecting her son. I am so proud of her for that. After so many trials that family has been through, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the both of them.
Today he is a marvelous student, awesome musician (he plays the clarinet in his school marching band) and is a wonderful individual that will prosper as he goes into his teenaged years. This is a success story.
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