Reflection Paper Example
Reflection Paper
Autism is a mental illness that disrupts normal functions of the brain. It usually manifests itself in children under the age of 3, because their brain is still in the process of development. I find the topic of autism challenging because even though this disorder has such a serious impact on the child’s life and development, its exact causes are not well known yet.
While exploring the topic of autism, I had odd and confused feelings. On the one hand, stories about autism are pitiful and shocking. Learning about children, who are not always able to experience their life to the fullest is uneasy. On the other hand, so much has been done in recent years in autism research and treatment, that future perspectives for patients are very promising. I have learnt that causes for autism vary greatly from patient to patient, yet several similarities still can be seen in all cases. It really surprised me that children with autism have troubles with understanding and perceiving emotions of other people (Pinel, 2011).
Thus, it is hard for them to take part in various social interactions and communicate with other children. Even though this does not happen to every sick child, it is still enough to make their life challenging. What is even more serious is that autism can cause mental deficiency preventing children from having a normal life within society. While I was doing my research, I found out that many scientists research autism as a complex illness. They concentrate on the examination of speech and development disorders. Sometimes, children with autism might have abnormal ear structure that certain scientists also consider a symptom of the disease (Pinel, 2011).
It is very positive that there are therapies that improve lives of challenged children allowing them to grow up and live an independent life. Despite this, I believe that every person should realize how hard it is for someone that has difficulties understanding other people’s emotions and motivations to live in contemporary society, and help them by all possible means. It is extremely important to increase public awareness about the issue. I believe that we should always remember that even though people with autism might be impaired, they can be superior in certain other aspects and that they surely deserve to be treated normally. I was surprised that people tend to look down on children with autistic disorders and think of them as of fully retarded and unable to do anything. The facts show that autistic patients might be very good at music and arts. Also, that they usually possess good vocabulary, are good at spelling ad reading (Pinel, 2011). It really surprised me that autism research has not been conducted to its fullest, even despite the fact that modern technology is developed enough. Therefore, doctors can not agree on common symptoms and causes for autism. Usually, the course of autism research is dictated by the defects that majority autistic children display. However, I think that it is equally important to focus on minor and less frequent symptoms, since it might be even more helpful.
I am sure that exploration of the topic has brought up many questions. I believe that now that I know so much about autism, I became more aware. My behavior will surely change, as I will look at autistic people in a different way. I know about communication and perception differences that they might have, and I will surely try to adjust myself to make our communication at least slightly easier. There are different kinds of modern technologies that facilitate the life of autistic people and help them make a remarkable progress in social skills development. I believe that autistic people should be given a possibility to live as independently, as possible, even if they constantly remain under doctor’s supervision. I know that sometimes children with autism can inflict unintended self-harm, and I think I will be able to deal with this kind of situation, if it occurs. I find it rather striking that even though autism is one of the most common childhood disorders, it was not properly explored until recently. I really hope that the rising awareness of the issue will change the current situation and help both doctors and patients.
