Showing posts with label Autism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Autism. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Famous People with Autism

Famous People with Autism

When celebrities share secrets about their private lives, they sometimes enlighten people about different types of health issues and concerns. One such issue is autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which refers to a group of different brain development disorders. These disorders are characterized by difficulties in verbal and nonverbal communication, social interaction, and repetitive behavior. There are several famous people with autism, but it is quite important to mention that autism is a relatively new disorder, as people were not aware of it before 1944. Most people with ASD usually has Asperger syndrome, and there are many popular celebrities who does not let this disorder come in their way of success.


Celebrities with Autism
Temple Grandin


Grandin is definitely among the most famous people with autism. She is known as a high-functioning autistic and plays an active role in raising awareness about this condition. She inspires millions by sharing her life story and also shows that it is possible to come up with revolutionary ideas even when you have this disorder. She helps the cattle industry improve by taking steps to make it more humane for animals. Shealso writes several books on autism and is now a professor at Colorado University.


Susan Boyle



Susan Boyle, the 52-year-old Scottish singing sensation, was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome a year ago when she started seeing a specialist who broke this news to her. She was told that she also has an above-average IQ. She did experience learning difficulties when she was young, but now she has become a global celebrity in the music industry. She shot to fame in 2009 when she took part in the TV show Britain's Got Talent. She becomes a sensation when she produced “I Dreamed a Dream” for the musical Les Miserables.


James Durbin



Durbin becomes popular when he appeared on the tenth season of American Idol. He was diagnosed with Asperger's when he was only 9 years old. Still, it does not stop him to finish fourth in American Idol. He released his first album in 2011. He never tried to hide his life story and is always open about his fight against Asperger's syndrome. He becomes a hero in season 10 and is definitely a deserving name to be on the list of famous people with autism.


Daryl Hannah



The starlet from Splash, Kill Bill, and many others has recently shared the news with her fans that she was diagnosed with autism at a very early age. Only the closest people in her life have knowledge about this. She now admits feeling that being autistic would ruin her career in the Hollywood. She also shares that it was her fear that kept her from walking down the red carpet and attending premieres.


Courtney Love



A biography by Poppy Z made this news public that actress and musician Courtney Love is mildly autistic. Love has also said that her social skills were quite weak but frequenting gay clubs with friends really helped her out. She still manages to rule the hearts of her audience all because of her over-the-top persona.




Dan Aykroyd



Dan Aykroyd who is an Academy Award Nominated writer and actor admitted in 2004 that he was diagnosed with Asperger's in the early 80s when he went to see a specialist. Two of his obsessions are with poLicemen and ghosts, but that really inspired him to write Ghostbusters.


Famous People Suspected to Be Autistic
While there is a good long list of famous people with autism who do not hide anything about their diagnosis, there are others who have not broken the news officially. Here is also a list of celebrities who are suspected to be autistic.


Tim Burton



Helena Bonham Carter reveals that her husband Tim Burton has Asperger's syndrome. She said she read about the symptoms when she was researching for a film and realized that all those traits were there in her beloved husband. She also mentioned that while watching a documentary about autistic people, Burton said that he had experienced the same in his childhood. Burton is an extremely dedicated person and sheer dedication is something you associated with autistic people. She said that this trait also makes him a fantastic father.


Stanley Kubrick



No one would believe that this renowned filmmaker would have autism or Asperger's. He was born in 1928 where no one knew about this syndrome. However, Dr. Michael Fitzgerald with co-writer Viktoria Lyons have diagnosed Kubrick in retrospect and discussed it in some detail in their book about Asperger’s. They made this diagnosis by highlighting certain traits in Kubrick – he had obsessive interests and poor social skills, was inflexible, and had literal thinking. They believe that if Kubrick was in fact an autistic individual, it was a gift for him considering how much he had achieved.


Albert Einstein



Scientists at Cambridge and Oxford have retrospectively diagnosed Einstein with Asperger's syndrome. They have based it on findings that Einstein's childhood was quite problematic and he had social development issues. He even had a tendency to repeat sentences and phrases. However, he did display a great sense of human though, which was rather challenging for some individuals on the spectrum.


Mozart



It is true that people were not aware of autism back in the time of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but many researches of autism has mentioned it already that he was a highly functioning autistic. Historians have mentioned that it was difficult for Mozart to keep his feet and hands still all the time, and he was extremely sensitive to loud sounds. All these characteristics suggest that Mozart may well be among the list of famous people with autism.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Autism

Autism






Children with autism will not see the world as a normal healthy child. For them, world is a place surrounded by events and people that does not make any sense but causes them large anxiety. It would be difficult for them to mingle with other people and take part in social life. Children with autism would have triad of impairments which means they have 3 main categories of difficulties in life namely social communication, social interaction and social imagination.


Symptoms :










The signs and symptoms of autism can become evident even during infancy or early childhood. The baby would remain unresponsive when you call him by name. He would remain focused on same object for long time irrespective of his surroundings. The child would avoid direct eye contact with others and would not respond to facial expression or tone of voice. The child could not relate to what others are saying and expressing. Body language will be totally strange to such children and he fails to respond whatever cue you give.


His physical development would be normal and healthy but as he grows he would become indifferent to society. Children with autism would involve in some sort of repetitive movements and behavior. Such children will have poor interaction with other children. Some may speak a few words but have difficulty in understanding and interpreting things. They repeat exactly the same set of words you have just said without understanding. Some adults who grow up with autism will take literal understanding of the language and cannot understand the inner meaning.


Often children with autism may have intellectual disability and about 30% of them would develop Epilepsy. People with autism would have hidden talents in some area and it is for the parents and society to explore it. There are many famous writers, artists and musicians who are autistic. Children with autism would always stick on to routine. The world is unpredictable and confusing for them and they are fixed for routine activities. It is very hard to change their routine and you should have enough patience and willpower to create changes in them.


Autistic people are either over-sensitive or under-sensitive. There would be some type of sensory sensitivity in one or more senses like touch, sound, smell, taste and sight. Many autistic children are found to have special interests in art, music or computers. They excel in such fields if given good encouragement.


Causes :


Exact cause of autism is still not clear. There are many parents who have normal healthy child and an autistic child. It is believed to be caused by genetic and environmental factors. Some children with autism may show improvement of symptoms as they grow, but many grow up as adult with the same set of difficulties. They may need continued support and service lifelong.


Diagnosis :


Severity of the symptoms of autism varies from one child to other. Some have mild autism with good language skills and others may show intense symptoms. Some children may have other disabilities that can mask autism. Parents can pick up the clue of autism in their child even during infancy. The baby may not babble after completing his first birthday also. The baby may not response when others call him by name. He may show poor eye contact and be irresponsive to any kind of emotions.


Doctors will use standardized questionnaire to get more information about the child and his behavior. With the help of psychologist and neurologist one can find out if there are any other mental issues or physical problems with respect to his behavior. Sometimes doctors would refer you to a speech therapist who can detect any speech related issues for the child.


Treatment :


Autism cannot be cured since the root cause is not clear. Therapies can be given to improve the quality of life and to meet specific needs of the child. The more early you start the treatment, the more will be the recovery. Psychologist and therapist can together workout skill oriented training for the child to develop his language and social skills. It would be really challenging to bring up a child with autism. Parents and family counseling is given to cope with the challenges ahead.


Medications are prescribed to treat other physiological problems like Depression, anxiety or OCD or ADHD behavior of the child. Seizures can be managed with anticonvulsant drugs. Hyperactivity and impulsive nature of the child can be controlled with effective medications.


Facts on Autism :



  • Autism is a rare spectrum disorder that causes developmental disability and interferes with the pattern of communication and behavior to large extent.

  • Exact cause for autism is not known, but it is believed to occur due to genetic defects or mutated genes.

  • Autism is inherited by birth and can be diagnosed as early as 1-2 years

  • Autism causes disability that may range from mild to severe

  • Autism affects the way in which the child communicates and perceives the world

  • Not all the children with autism have similar problems with communication, language and behavior

  • Autism cannot be cured and only the symptoms can be managed to some extent. It is a disability that exists lifelong

  • Autism is a spectrum disorder, meaning that all children with autism will have common difficulties but it would affect them in different ways

  • Milder form of autistic behavior is known as Asperger syndrome

  • About 20-30% of children with autism may have epilepsy

  • Autism is more common than you think. 1 out of every 100 children will show some kind of autistic behavior. Children with autism grow into adults with autism. Millions of people across the world have autism.