Research Discovers Physical Characteristics Related To Autism

Thanks to new research, researchers have discovered several physical characteristics that may be linked to autism.

A short story about autism

Autism is a neurobiological disorder that was recently discovered. In fact, it was first identified in the mid-twentieth century by psychiatrist Leo Kanner.

Since then, there have been many studies that have renewed and expanded what we know about the disease.

When we talk about autism in general, we are actually referring to autism spectrum disorders. This is a broad group of disorders that consist of several similar, but different, neurobiological developmental disorders.

However, that was not always the case. In fact, the term autism was coined to denote a symptom of schizophrenia. The word comes from the Greek word autos , which refers to the self.

Later, the word became common in child psychology. It described children who had difficulty achieving emotional contact, and who presented several stereotypical behaviors.

Next, we need to look at the “autism spectrum.” In addition, we will talk about research that was conducted on the possibility of a physical property associated with this condition.

The autism spectrum

Autism is often a cause of the baby’s cool behavior towards his parents in the first months of life.

Fortunately, however, experts have conducted many successful studies and are learning much more about the disease.

As a result of these studies, the concept of “autism spectrum” was introduced. Experts began to distinguish between several different syndromes based on their individual peculiarities. For example, Asperger’s syndrome: people who suffer from it have no delays in language acquisition.

Then they began to change the concept of the cause of these disorders. Today, experts accept that it is a result of genetics, epigenetic and environmental causes during embryogenesis.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Through autism spectrum disorders, the basic symptoms are:

• Persistent deficiencies in communication and social interaction.

• Restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests and activities.

These symptoms are present in the early stages of development.

First signs of autism

The first signs of autism are usually visible around the age of three. Long before the age of three, however, children with autism do not have what is called a “social smile.” The social smile is the first smile a child has. It is a response to stimuli, such as the child’s mother or father.

In addition, they present hypersensitivity to tactile, auditory, olfactory and gustatory stimuli. They usually avoid personal and visual contact. In addition, they tend to use very little language.

They often do not understand jokes, double meanings or metaphors. They also do not participate in symbolic games, such as playing mother, father and children or playing with cars as if they were real. Their interests are usually unusual, repetitive, and they prefer to do them for themselves.

Children with autism usually have very little interest in other children. In addition, when they are young, they will not tell you what they like or want (for example, by pointing with their finger). Their behavior is also “unusual” and repetitive, as well as self-stimulating (such as balancing things).

New physical characteristics associated with autism

La Trobe University of Melbourne, Australia recently conducted a study on autistic children. It seems that they have found physical characteristics associated with autism.

In this study, the researchers found that children with autism are on average born with certain peculiar characteristics:

• 4.8 inches smaller in length
• 0.18 kg less in weight
• The circumference of the skull is 2.3 cm smaller

However, experts have also discovered that children with autism for three years tended to exceed neurotypical children with other physical characteristics. It seems that it is all due to an imbalance in a growth hormone that is common in autistic children.

About this study related to autism

However, you should know that this study was relatively small. 134 children with autism and 74 neurotypical children participated. In addition, there are no previous studies to support it. In fact, the only previous study conducted in this regard found no differences between some children and others.

In addition , there were no girls in this study. This is very important to take into account, since autism spectrum disorders develop with significant differences in boys and girls.

However, according to Dr. Cherie Green, the study could be useful in identifying subgroups of autism. In principle, people with mutations in the CHD8 gene tend to have larger heads, while people with the mutated DYRK1A gene tend to have smaller heads.

In addition, this type of research may have other uses. One of them would be to determine which mechanisms (outside the brain) play a role in the development of the disease, and how. The next step in this study will be to examine growth in adolescents.