Autism Spectrum Disorder : he prefers to play alone

95 Pages·2018·1.33 MB·English

by  Eckdahl

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Todd T. Eckdahl
LIBRARY A. Malcolm Campbell, Collection Editor
This book is an overview of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an
Create your own early childhood condition that affects 1 in 68 children in the
Customized Content United States, and an estimated 1 to 2 percent of children world-
Bundle — the more wide. ASD causes impaired social skills, communication problems,
books you buy, and repetitive behaviors. The severity of ASD symptoms varies
the higher your widely, ranging from mild effects with minimal impacts on func-
tionality to severe effects that interfere with functionality and can
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prevent independent living.
Autism
ASD is a complex trait disease caused by mutation of multiple
THE CONTENT
ASD susceptibility genes, but it also occurs as part of m onogenic
• Nutrition and genetic syndromes. Genetic testing for ASD is described in the
Dietetics Practice book, and examples of ASD susceptibility genes. No treatments Spectrum
• Psychology are available for the core symptoms of ASD, but the book
• Health, Wellness, describes therapies and drug treatments that can modulate them
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THE TERMS Dr. Todd T. Eckdahl earned a BS in chemistry from the University D He Prefers to Play
• Perpetual access for of Minnesota, Duluth, and a PhD in molecular genetics from ISO
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a one time fee Purdue University. He is a professor of biology at Missouri Western DE Alone
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access fees with undergraduate students. Dr. Eckdahl has published over
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concurrent usage uate science education. He is a member of the Missouri Academy
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For further information, of Governors Distinguished Professor Award, the James V. Mehl
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Autism Spectrum
Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder
He Prefers to Play Alone
Todd T. Eckdahl
Autism Spectrum Disorder: He Prefers to Play Alone
Copyright © Momentum Press®, LLC, 2018.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—
electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for
brief quotations, not to exceed 250 words, without the prior permission
of the publisher.
First published in 2018 by
Momentum Press®, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.momentumpress.net
ISBN-13: 978-1-94474-959-0 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-94474-960-6 (e-book)
Momentum Press Human Diseases and Conditions Collection
Cover and interior design by S4Carlisle Publishing Services Private Ltd.,
Chennai, India
First edition: 2018
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
Abstract
This book is an overview of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), an early
childhood condition that affects 1 in 68 children in the United States, and
an estimated 1 to 2 percent of children worldwide. ASD is c haracterized
by impaired social skills, communication problems, and repetitive
behaviors. The reader will learn about the early signs of ASD, and that
the severity of ASD symptoms varies widely, ranging from mild effects
with minimal impacts on functionality to severe effects that p revent
independent living. The book explains that ASD is usually a complex
trait disease caused by mutation of multiple ASD susceptibility genes,
but that in rare cases it occurs as part of a monogenic genetic syndrome.
The book describes g enetic testing for ASD, and presents examples of
ASD susceptibility genes that influence the development and function
of the brain and the central nervous system. No treatments are available
for the core symptoms of ASD, but the book describes therapies and
drug treatments that can m odulate them and address some of the health
complications of ASD. The book presents new ASD biomarkers that
can be used for better diagnosis, and explores the hopeful prospect of
personalized medicine for ASD.
Keywords
Asperger’s syndrome, autism, autism spectrum, autism spectrum d isorder,
complex trait disease, genetic disease, neurodevelopmental disorder,
pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified

Contents
List of Figures .......................................................................................ix
List of Tables .........................................................................................xi
Acknowledgments ................................................................................xiii
Introduction .........................................................................................1
Chapter 1 Symptoms and Diagnosis .................................................5
Chapter 2 Causes and Contributing Factors ...................................23
Chapter 3 Treatment and Therapy ..................................................47
Chapter 4 Future Prospects .............................................................53
Conclusion ..........................................................................................57
Glossary ..............................................................................................59
Bibliography ........................................................................................67
About the Author .................................................................................71
Index ..................................................................................................73

List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Structure and expression of NLGN3, an ASD
susceptibility gene ..........................................................29
Figure 2.2 Structure of a typical synapse between neurons ..............30
Figure 2.3 ASD CNV risk loci with number of genes included
and positions indicated by arrows on a karyotype ...........35
Figure 2.4 Autosomal recessive inheritance illustrated with a
Punnett square showing offspring genotypes and
phenotypes from a carrier father and a carrier mother ....38
Figure 2.5 Autosomal dominant inheritance illustrated with
a Punnett square showing offspring genotypes and
phenotypes from a heterozygous affected father and
an unaffected mother .....................................................39
Figure 2.6 X-linked dominant inheritance illustrated with a
Punnett square showing offspring genotypes and
phenotypes from an affected father and an unaffected
mother ...........................................................................42
Figure 2.7 X-linked dominant inheritance illustrated with a
Punnett square showing offspring genotypes and
phenotypes from an unaffected father and an affected
mother ...........................................................................43