History of Autism and Aspergers

History of Autism and Aspergers Pandoras Box During World War II, the large-scale involvement of US psychiatrists in the required a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. This prompted the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to publish the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) The first edition, DSM-I, published in 1952, included autism as schizophrenic reaction, childhood type, but provided no guidance on diagnosis. In DSM-III, published in 1980, infantile autism was lifted from schizophrenia and established as the core of a new category of pervasive developmental disorders, based on Kanners two cardinal signs: pervasive lack of responsiveness to other people and resistance to change. The age of onset was specified as before 30 months, which would rule out all kids who would later be diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. To accommodate kids who suffered a loss of skills after thirty months, there was Childhood Onset Pervasive Developmental Disorder (COPDD). In DSM-III-R, published in 1987, the manual was revised to improve the criteria for autism based on recommendations of a task force, comprising Lorna Wing, Lynn Waterhouse, and Bryna Siegel. In this revision, the word infantile was deleted, and Kanners syndrome was rechristened autistic disorder. There was no age-of-onset, and the COPDD diagnosis was dropped. It also added a new criterion Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). This label turned out to be the most commonly used PDD diagnosis. Estimates of autism prevalence increased worldwide after DSM-III and DSM-III-R was published. The overall trend was clear: Autism spectrum disorder might be as prevalent as 1 in 100 children. After a comprehensive analysis of the Family Fund database for the UK Department of Education and Skills, PricewaterhouseCoopers concluded that the increase in autism resulted from improved diagnosis and recognition of the disability. A similar evolution was taking place in the United States, prompted by a set of amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In 1991, autism was included in IDEA as its own category of disability, which enabled children with a diagnosis to gain access to individualized instructions and other services. In tandem with IDEA, state legislators passed laws making public funds available to families for early intervention therapy. The first standardized clinical instruments to screen for autism were becoming available.ÂÂ   The first attempt to develop and popularize such a tool was Rimlands E-1, and E-2 behavioral checklists. But the checklists depended entirely on parental recall rather than direct clinical observation. A childs score could differ depending on which parent filled in the checklist. In 1980, Eric Schopler and his TEACCH colleagues introduced the Child Autism Rating Scale (CARS), which was good at distinguishing autism from other forms of developmental delays, such as intellectual disability. After observing the child engage in a structured interaction through a one-way mirror, the rater scored the child on a seven-point continuum along several dimensions such as verbal and nonverbal communication, interaction with people and objects, sensory responsiveness, intellectual functioning. CARS used the spectrum model of autism in the DSM-III-R to score behaviors. Independent analyses showed that the scale was reliable and consistent, and that its score matched well with assessment by other means. In 1988, Schopler issued a second edition of CARS that could diagnose teenagers and adults. After reading the manual and watching a 30-minute video, a novice could produce ratings that were as accurate as those of seasoned clinical observers. Then, six months after Rain Man opened, an international team of researchers introduced a comprehensive tool called the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS). Based on the criteria that would appear in the upcoming DSM-IV, the ADOS and a companion tool called the Autism Diagnostic Interview became the gold standard of autism assessment. *** The first international conference on Asperger syndrome was held in 1988, and Lorne Wing had lobbied the World Health Organization (WHO) to include Asperger Syndrome in the 10th edition of the International Classification of Disease (ICD), published in 1990. In 1994, Asperger syndrome was included in DSM-IV. *** Leominster, the birthplace of Johnny Appleseed, is forty-five miles northeast of Boston. In the 1940s, it was called the Plastic City as one in five residents worked for plastics manufacturers like Foster Grant, the company that turned sunglasses into a fashion. Soon it became the Pollution City as the waters of the Nashua flowed red, white, and blue. Then Foster Grant outsourced its frame manufacturing to Mexico. The defunct plant was declared a hazardous-waste site by state authorities. Two years after the plant closed, a couple in Leominster named Lori and Larry Altobelli had their second child, Joshua. When he was three, he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. His younger brother, Jay, was also eventually diagnosed with PDD-NOS. Later on, Larry Altobelli realized that two of his friends grew up from the same neighborhood also had autistic kids. Lori, who had a masters degree in health care administration, asked parents at autism support group meetings if they had ever lived in her husbands old neighborhood. She was shocked by how many said yes. On March 25, 1990, Lori sent a letter to the CDC headquarters in Atlanta demanding an investigation. An epidemiologist arrived in town two months later to collect data. Lori had promised to keep the investigation secret to avert mass panic until she heard the city was planning to build a playground next to the old factory. She called and complained to the mayor who promised to postpone the playground. But an anonymous caller tipped off local reporters and the news went national, appearing at ABC Newss 20/20 on March 13, 1992. A graduate student named Martha Lang from Brown University found from Loris files that the number of confirmed autisms in town was lower than she had been led to believe. Some of the kids were misdiagnosed, and some parents in Loris files had never lived in Leominster at all. After failing to find evidence of genetic abnormalities in the community, the team of geneticists from Stanford suggested that the rise in autism was driven by the change in the diagnostic criteria for autism rather than a true increase in prevalence. But the media circus had long ago moved on. *** In 1995, after a torrent of inquiries from parents, Rimland ran a banner headline in his newsletter, Is There an Autism Epidemic? His answer was yes. But instead of focusing on the changes in the diagnostic criteria, he raised the possibilities that pollution, antibiotics, and vaccines were triggering the increase in new cases, citing the Leominster cluster as an example. Rimland made that statement after he read the book called DPT: A Shot in the Dark, written by Harris Coulter and Barbara Loe Fisher. Rimlands endorsement helped to spread Coulters ideas within the autistic parents community. Meanwhile, a young gastroenterologist in England named Andrew Wakefield introduced Coulters ideas into the mainstream by claiming to have discovered a potential mechanism by which the combination measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine causes brain injury. In the mid 1990s, Wakefield published a series of studies in which he concluded that measles virus might cause Crohns disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The studies were considered groundbreaking, but subsequent research failed to confirm the hypothesis. In 1995, while conducting research into Crohns disease, a mother of an autistic child approach Wakefield seeking help with her sons bowel problems. That prompted him researching for possible connections between the MMR vaccine and autism. On February 28, 1998, Wakefield held a press conference at Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, on his new studies published in The Lancet. The paper, written by Wakefield and twelve other authors, claimed to have identified a new syndrome, raising the possibility of a link between autism, the MMR vaccine, and a novel form of bowel disease. Although the paper said no causal connection had been proven, Wakefield made statements at a press conference calling for suspension of the MMR vaccine until further research. This press coverage sent shock waves through the autism parents community. In the coming years, many members of Rimlands network would become convinced that autism was caused by damage to the childs developing brain from from vaccines, vaccine preservatives, or both. Meanwhile, other researchers could not reproduce Wakefields findings or confirm his hypothesis. In 2004, Brian Deer, a Sunday Times reporter, discovered that Wakefield had failed to disclose its financial conflicts of interest; ten of the studys co-authors took their names off the paper; and Lancet retracted the study in 2004. Wakefield was stripped of his medical license in England in 2010, and the editors of the British Medical Journal denounced his study as an elaborate fraud in 2011. *** There was no question in Lorna Wings mind that the changes she brought to the DSM criteria were the primary factor responsible for the rise in autism cases. Her daughter, Suzie died of a heart attack in 2005 at age forty-nine, and her husband died of Alzheimers disease five years later. She died in 2014 at age eighty-five.

Satanism Essay -- social issues

Satanism The occult is on the rise; many young people are seeking their spiritual identity through Satanism. Satanism has become an issue of great concern in our society. It is a phenomenon that crosses the city limits into the rural areas of our nation. Satanism is not just a big city problem. The news wires carry story after story about young children being kidnapped, only to be found later as victims of some bizarre ritualistic crime. This paper will analyze and will come to a conclusion to the most frequently asked question â€Å"What makes a person to convert his/her religion to Satanism?† To do so, this paper will examine the following areas: Effects of Satanism on our youth and society, does power attracts young people to become a Satanist? And is music a factor in changing one’s religion to Satanism? As satanic involvement among our youth increases, we begin to see the primary goal of such activity. It has become clear, according to the data so far analyzed by those who investigate satanic involvement, that the primary goal is to alter people's values and turn them against themselves, their beliefs, family, God, and society. C. S. Lewis, a famous English writer, in his book Screwtape Letters, says this about Satan: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. The term occult means "hidden" or those things or teachings that are "unknown" or secret. This might build some interest or curiosity in some people who want to know what these things are. The occult is the seeking knowledge of unknown information, knowledge that is gained beyond the five senses. Therefore, it is believed that this knowledge is received by some supernatural involvement or connection. Anton LaVey of the First Church of Satan in San Francisco, California, says that: Satanism is a blatantly selfish, brutal religion. It is based on the belief that man is inherently a selfish, violent creature... that the earth will be ruled by those who fight to win. Young Satanists believe that the strong will rule with Satan. Once they are sufficiently involved, they often make a deal with Satan. They commit themselves to a future... ... acceptable in a civilized society. In conclusion, after examining the three focus areas i.e. the effects of Satanism on our youth and society, does power attracts young people to become Satanists and if music is one of the factor in changing one’s religion into Satanism. I have reached the conclusion that there are a lot of others things besides the one mentioned above, that can force a person to change his/her religion to Satanism, which includes lack of social skills, physical or emotional abusing, media/music, obsession with power, etc. BIBLIOGRAPHY Book Sources Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts, London, Pan Books Ltd, 1967. Kahaner, Larry. Cults that kill, San Francisco, Warner Prints, 1994. LaVey, Anton Szandor. The Satanic Rituals, New York, Avon Books, 1972. Marron, Kevin. Ritual Abuse, Canada, McClelland-Bantam, Inc., 1989. Internet Sources Lavey, Anton. â€Å"Church of Satan†, http://www.churchofsatan.com, (January 8th, 2004) â€Å"Satanism†, April 1999, http://www.dpjs.co.uk/, (January 8th, 2004) â€Å"Satanism Exposed†, http://www.exposingsatanism.com, (january8th, 2004) â€Å"Satanism†, http://altreligion.about.com/cs/satanism/, (January8th, 2004)

Agriculture and Development

Agriculture is in many parts of the world is the main source of food and income of households. The role that agriculture plays in development has been debated during the last decades and the views about it are very diverse. Today, many authors consider agriculture as an essential factor for development and an important instrument for poverty alleviation. In my opinion access to land and water is an indispensable condition to ensure the livelihood of the poor.The current market conditions and the economic liberalization process make it difficult for small farmers to compete with the international sphere, which led many people to move out of agriculture. Also, the market-driven economy has serious environmental consequences, which leads to the investment in the research of more sustainable agriculture methods. In this essay, we provide a situational analysis of agriculture in the third world, which warrants our interest in the same. 1. Different views about Agriculture and Development. For some authors agriculture is a provider of raw material for the rest of the economic sectors and it is seen as a mere contributor to fuel economic development. This simplistic vision contrast with that of those who see agriculture as an essential instrument for industrialization, allowing the transfer of capital to urban areas, stimulating the market and, thus, resulting in economic development. According to Norton (2004), most of economic theories of the last 50 years support industrialization as the basis of economic development.Many governments supporting this theory saw liberalization of agricultural goods as the key for economic growth, without taking into account the effect of dependency that the new system would create. 2. The effects of the market on rural agriculture. The case of Kenya, The global economy and liberalization has deep effects on agriculture, and especially on the economy of smallholder’s farmers in the Third World. New market arrangements have broug ht opportunities for some farmers, but also had negative impact on others, who cannot compete with the low prices established by a liberalized trade.An example of this is the case of Kenya, which as many countries in Africa, suffered from a strong economic crisis during the 80s. The new international terms of trade and the increase of the world interest rates, together with internal causes (such as one of the worst drought periods of its history and political mismanagement) led to disastrous consequences on its agriculture. International market arrangements greatly influence the rural poor livelihoods as it establishes the rules that may not allow them to play in the market.These rules are designed to benefit exclusively large commercial farmers, instead of rural smallholders farmers who have experienced a reduction in their incomes. Food prices are intimately connected to the world market in areas where the poor live. 3. Agriculture research for development. Smallholder farmers pro duce food, which will be consumed by the poor, so rural agriculture, is a key for the livelihoods of the majority of the world’s poorest people (Kydd, 2002).Therefore, agriculture is a central question of development and it needs the adoption of convenient technologies for the different rural population’s needs. The idea is that smallholder farmers will be able to increase their capacities to improve their living standard through their own efforts. Thus, rather than addressing the symptoms should be better to address the causes of poverty through the application of more appropriate agriculture methods to rural farmers. The commercialization of agriculture has also led to a set of agriculture practices completely different from those of the last century.These changes are basically imposed by the new market demands and by the producers’ attempts to answer it. The new agricultural patterns involved a change in the research methods carried out by private organizatio ns searching for more efficient production practices. In this context, advances in biotechnology in the last decades have focused on profitable markets, especially orientated to large commercial agriculture. According to Norton, (2004), irrigation alone cannot be the only basis to supply food to an increasing world population.Important advances have been made in GMO as a new alternative to food production in order to feed future generations. â€Å"Participatory technology development†, where the farmers acquire the control and play a crucial role on agricultural development. Like in the years before industrialization, small farmers have again in his hands the tools for technological change in agriculture, although this new participatory process is still in its development stage. 4. Gender considerations.Due to the essential role that women are playing today on the economy of the household in developing countries, agriculture development research cannot ignore gender issues wh en designing new programs. Women in many countries produce a large part of the food crops of the households and they are essential for the family’s food security (IFAD, 2001). . References. Bibliography. Duncan, A. & Howell, J. (1992). Structural Adjustment and the African Farmer. London and Portsmouth: ODI, James Currey Ltd. & Heinemann Educational Books, Inc. o Search Top of Form

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