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Brain Development and Autism

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Oliver 1
The brain is essential to growth and development in humans. During the critical period of development, how we experience the world plays a role in our brain development. In recent years, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become prevalent among disorders that affect brain development. Due to advancements in technology, the world is able to understand how important brain research is to the early detection of autism.
Leo Kanner is the first person to formally identified autism. In 1943, Kanner labeled autism as “autistic disturbance of affective contact”. Initially, there was a lot of confusion concerning Kanner’s description of autism because it was closely related to the characterization of other mental disorders …show more content…

Gluten is found in many grains and food starches. Casein is found in milk, products containing, and it can be added to non-milk products. Researchers have found that some children with ASD cannot properly digest gluten and casein, which break down into substances that act like drugs in their body. As with any drug, these substances alter an autistic child’s view on their environment (Cornish 2002). With new research geared toward the intervention of ASD through diet changes, parents are now taking steps to remove gluten and casein from their child’s diet. As another form of early intervention, parents are also encouraged to focus on stopping various behaviors.
Autistic children may become aggressive when pulled away from their routine behaviors (i.e. rocking back and forth). However, being pulled away from their routine behaviors will help autistic children become more flexible and comfortable with their environment. Additionally, autistic children should be encouraged to engage in conversation. Autistic children need to be taught the meaning of various facial expressions and how to make eye contact when speaking to someone (Akshoomoff, Carper, Townsend, Courchesne 2004). Parents and early childhood teachers must find ways to help autistic children with learning new behaviors so they are able to cope in their environment. Although children with

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