Is Autism a Disease?

A lot of progress has been made in expanding the knowledge, understanding and acceptance of people with autism spectrum disease (ASD). Over the last 25 years or so, much research has contributed to the continued advancement of treatment for people with autism, such as applied behavior analysis (ABA therapy), as well as general acceptance and inclusion of people on the autism spectrum.

Despite all of this, there is still a lot about autism that isn’t known, or is not as clear. At the same time, there are still some negative stigmas that exist about autism, which in a way make it harder for full inclusion of people with autism to happen.

One common misconception of autism is that it is a disease, and that one day there might be a cure for it. The fact is that autism is not a disease and, as a result, cures are not available.

We’ll discuss this aspect of autism in more depth below, explaining what autism is and how that applies to people who have it.

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What is Autism?

Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder. People who have autism are born with it, and they will be faced with the challenges it presents for their entire life.

This aspect of autism is a little confusing to some people. Part of the reason for that could be the fact that the signs and symptoms of autism typically don’t become apparent until a few years into life.

So, even though an affected child will have ASD from the moment they are born, parents, caregivers, doctors and other professionals might not come to the conclusion that they have autism for a few years. In fact, while some of the signs and symptoms of autism can be detected from as early as six months old, most official ASD diagnoses don’t happen until a child is between three and five years old.

Autism can affect different people in widely different ways — in what is referred to as a wide spectrum. That being said, some of the most common challenges people with ASD face include difficulties with social interactions and communication, restrictive interests, repetitive behaviors and/or sensory challenges.

How Does Autism Differ from a Disease?

Many times, the words disorder and disease are used interchangeably. And while there are some similarities between the two terms, there are distinct differences.

A disease refers to a medical condition that has three main things — a future course that’s predictable, symptoms that can be easily identified and a cause that is known.

Most of the time, the word disease is used to refer to a physiological process that’s abnormal or an infection of the body. Some of the most common diseases are heart disease, cancer and pneumonia.

Some diseases, such as polio for example, have known cures. Other diseases, such as cancer, don’t have definitive cures but rather treatments that have varying degrees of success, based on the type of cancer.

Autism fits into some of that description but not others.

Like a disease, ASD has symptoms that can be identified and a future course that’s at least relatively predictable. While there are some factors that are believed to cause autism, there is no one definite root cause.

Autism is not communicable, like some diseases are, and there is no cure for it. This is why it’s considered to be a disorder.

Some diseases can, in fact, be considered a disorder — but the same is not true the other way around. A disorder can include a condition that doesn’t have a known cause, an abnormality in typical development and an issue with mental health.

Common disorders are ASD, genetic disorder, learning disorder and anxiety disorder.

How is Autism Identified and Treated?

Unlike many diseases, autism can’t be diagnosed with a blood test or other medical examination. Instead, ASD diagnoses are made based on the presence of certain behaviors.

There are many screening tests that are done nowadays in the child’s first few years of life, and these are often administered as part of the child’s routine visits at the pediatrician’s office. If concerns arise, further evaluations are usually conducted by a specialist who is trained in diagnosing autism, such as a developmental pediatrician or a clinical psychologist.

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Children who are diagnosed with autism are often referred to specialized treatment plans that can help them build the skills they commonly struggle with and to get the support they need in their life.

ABA therapy is considered the gold standard of treatment plans for children on the autism spectrum. It’s a science- and evidence-based approach to learning and behavior that helps children with autism build the social, communication and daily life skills with which they typically struggle.

Blue Gems ABA Evaluates and Treats Children with Autism

Despite misconceptions, autism is not a disease. It is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that children are born with, though it may not be easy to spot the common signs and symptoms until they are a few years old.

At Blue Gems ABA, we have a team of clinical psychologists who are specially trained in evaluating children for ASD. If a diagnosis is appropriate, we then recommend the child for ABA therapy, which we also administer through our team of experienced BCBAs.

By creating customized ABA therapy treatment plans that specifically cater to each child’s unique strengths and challenges, we help support children as best as we can.

To learn more, please contact us today.