Make the insurance industry pay when appropriate. Maybe your child was just diagnosed with it or maybe your sister had a child who has it. Autism Spectrum Disorder is occurring in children more now than ever.

What is the reason for it? Where does it start? Is it preventable? Is it contagious? These are just some of the questions parents ask themselves when confronted with this disorder. It's time to get more information on this disorder and the time is now. What is it? Autism is a word that is used to describe a series of developmental brain disorders that are known as Pervasion Developmental Disorders, or PDD. There are more pervasive developmental disorders called PDD-NOS or not otherwise specified. Others include Rett Syndrome, Asperger Syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. This complete group of Pervasion Developmental Disorders is often referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders because it covers a wide spectrum of disorders. It is estimated that for every 110 children, one will be diagnosed with autism. These statistics are more common that juvenile diabetes, pediatric AIDS, or childhood cancer. The numbers have increased over time and the reason for that increase is not positively known right now. These estimates are for children in the United States alone. What is the cause of Autism? There is no real answer for this question. Most cases for autism is unknown because it simply hasn't been discovered yet. It's not as simple as saying either your child has autism or they don't. There are varying degrees of this disorder from mild to severe. This leads professionals to believe that there may be multiple reasons why a child has autism. It could be genetic or it could be due to exposure of something but there is no simple answer or solution known today. Timing includes before the child was born, during childbirth, and after birth. 

Some scientists wonder Autism Spectrum Disorder is due to Nooflex genetics. Could it be due to an infection or an environmental agent? Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder Again, since there are so many varieties of this type of disorder symptoms can vary as well. The main united symptom is that Autism can affect the way that the child sees and understands the world and it can make communicating with that child difficult and it can make the social skills of the child difficult as well. Because the child has difficulties communicating and doesn't see the world in the same way, not every case of autism is going to be the same. The symptoms of this disorder can last throughout the entire life of that person. Individuals who have mild cases may have a certain symptom that can be seen from time to time but they can lead a normal typical life. A person with severe symptoms may not be able to speak or even take care of themselves. What can you do? The best way to handle Autism Spectrum Disorder is to learn all you can about it and become an advocate. You can't change the disorder but you can learn how you can live with it. Acceptance takes time so be patient. Meantime, join a support group and if there are none around you, form one. You would be amazed at how many people are affected by this disorder in some way; a child, neighbor, babysitter, co-worker, niece, nephew, cousin or other family member. "A mental disorder is a classified as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome that occurs and that is associated with present distress or disability or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom." (Peters, 2000). Although mental disorders may have a variety of manifestations and degrees of severity, they all are characterized by persistent, abnormal patterns of problem behaviors. 

These clients are sometimes described as having behavior disorders or behavioral disorders. Mental illnesses and disorders traditionally have been classified into two broad categories of neuroses and psychoses. A neurosis is a mental disorder primarily characterized by anxiety. This anxiety may be experienced directly and be the main manifestation of the disorder or it may be unconsciously controlled or modified to produce other distressing symptoms. A psychosis is a more severe mental disorder that is primarily characterized by loss of contact with reality. Individuals who have psychoses have delusions, hallucinations and an impaired ability to test reality. For many, a mental disorder can hinder a person from keeping a job, family, relationships and sanity. The psychiatric problems that occur in adults are more likely to be associated with the stresses of everyday adaptation or a more chronic reaction resulting from distress over a longer period of time. What many people don't know is that someone can in fact live a relatively normal life with the help of many therapies, such as music therapy to be specific. "Bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness, is a brain disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks." (2008). Symptoms of bipolar disorder are severe. They are different from the normal ups and downs that everyone goes through from time to time. Bipolar disorder symptoms can result in damaged relationships, poor job or school performance and even suicide. But bipolar disorder can be treated and people with this illness can lead full and productive lives. 

Bipolar disorder often develops in a person's late teens or early adult years. At least half of all cases start before age 25. "In the acute phases of their illness, adults who have mental or behavioral disorders often display behaviors of intense confusion, agitation, excitability, fearfulness or withdrawal. They have a need to learn and develop positive coping mechanisms to deal with the stresses and responsibility of daily life." (Peters, 2000). Some people have their first symptoms during childhood, while others may develop symptoms late in life. For example, Maria is a seventeen year old who has been suffering with bipolar disorder for two years. Her ups and down cycle average from two to three months. For the first couple of months, she is in a hypo maniac state where she goes out everyday, shops, spends excessive amounts of money, wears make up and loses a large amount of weight. The next couple of months she locks herself in her room, binge eats, gains weight, cries and completely cuts her connections with the outside world. Due to this unstable cycle, she has dropped regular school and had tried to take up homeschooling, lost all friends, unable to work for an allowance and feels worthless and hateful toward herself most of the time. Her battle with bipolar disorder has made it impossible for her to continue therapy for longer than a month at a time. "During a depressive episode, the person has a persistent depressed mood (most of the day and nearly everyday) and several other symptoms such as diminished interest in activities that are generally enjoyable, changes in appetite or weight, changes in sleep patterns, agitation or lack of energy, feelings of worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, and thinking clearly and thoughts of suicide. 

Symptoms may develop at a time of personal crisis but people can also feel depressed for no apparent reason." (Davis, 1999). Most of the time, the symptoms can be nothing mysterious and can have a minimal effect on a person's life. But, overtime, the episodes can get increasingly worse for longer periods of time. In a severe state, a person can become psychotic and the episode can last for up to six months if it is left untreated. "During a manic episode, people may have decreased need for sleep, their thoughts may race and they may be extremely talkative. They may engage in wild spending sprees or take on unrealistic tasks." (Davis, 1999). For the most part, a manic episode can be just as hurtful to a person as a depressive episode, if not more. During these times of feeling up and energized, it may seem that a person does not need their medication and that can lead to many more issues to a person with bipolar disorder. While treating these times, it can also help the person from not making poor decisions and having to deal with the repercussions later on during a depressive episode. Many of these symptoms are also present in a hypo manic episode. A hypo manic episode is similar to a manic episode, but the symptoms may be experienced to a lesser extent and do not normally affect a person in their daily life. "Music therapy is defined as a planned, goal-directed process of interaction and evaluation of individual client's specific needs, strengths, and weaknesses, in which music or music-based experiences are specifically prescribed to be used by specifically trained personnel to influence positive changes in an individual's condition, skills, thoughts, feelings, or behaviors." (Peters, 2000). It is a process that takes place over time and involves growth, change, and development.

The process of music therapy may include various musical, creative, artistic, therapeutic, developmental, educational, interpersonal, behavioral and scientific components as music therapist and client interact over time in both musical and non-musical areas. Under the direction of a trained music therapist, the music based experiences become potent therapeutic tools that can predictably and effectively influence positive changes in an individual's condition, skills, thoughts, feelings or behaviors. Once a client has been assessed, evaluated, and individual therapeutic goals have been formulated, the music therapist designs a series of specific music and rhythm-based experiences that will help the client reach these goals and objectives. Music therapists often work directly with other professionals on medical or educational treatment teams. When they work in teams, these specialists meet together and decide how to coordinate their services in a way that will best help the client meet certain therapeutic goals. Treatment for psychiatric disorders often involves a combination of approaches and interventions including a structured environment, a regime of medication, a variety of psychotherapeutic interventions and a program of activity therapies.