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Autism Is Not A Single Disease?

Decent Essays

While many individuals may have racial categories in mind when they are presented with a topic about minorities, autistic individuals are rarely brought to the surface of this conversation. This means that one should consider those with disabilities as another minority category. Those with autism cannot express their thoughts well, showing their lack of socialization with anyone. Knowing that autistic individuals are born with this genetic disease serves as a detriment when they face a classroom environment, where communication is quite important, especially in the K-12 system of the United States. Therefore, not supporting autistic students to their fullest potential serves many problems to the student, parent, and educational system. Before delving into the problems that arise, one should understand how to classify autism. According to O’Callaghan, “autism is not a single disease but a name...given to a behavioral phenotype that may have many aetiologies” (O’Callaghan). While the terminology O’Callaghan used may appear daunting because it leans towards scientific discussion, his definition explains that one should not assume autism is just a disease in itself, but is more than that. It serves another role of representing how an autistic individual acts and that the way they behave is a physical characteristic one can identify when regarding them. He additionally mentioned that autism may not have one cause, but may be composed of several causes attributed towards it.

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