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Today, autism in kids is a cause of concern for a large number of parents around the world. New studies are conducted in all major medical research centers of the world with a goal of finding out new information about the condition. Some studies are offering possible management techniques for autistic children and some are coming up with the dangerous consequences of the disorder.
Parents of autistic children must check their kids for symptoms of epilepsy and parents with children suffering from epilepsy should check their kids for the symptoms of autism. This is because a recently conducted research on autism has proved that the mortality rate is much higher in people with both epilepsy and autism compared to the people with only autism.
What autism actually is? Autism is categorized among pervasive developmental disorders characterized by impaired communication and social interaction along with restricted interests and activities. Epilepsy on the other hand is categorized among chronic neurological disorders; it is marked by frequent episodes of seizures (physical responses to sudden and mostly brief electrical discharges of high intensity in a group of cells in our brain).
Nigeria is known to have the fastest growing autistic population in this world. According to statistics obtained from a recent survey, more than 1.2million children of Nigeria are suffering from autism. The cause of worry for the stakeholders is even more as the awareness on autism among the people of Nigeria is still extremely low. Currently, there’s a possibility of legislation in the National Assembly that will enhance the educational and treatment opportunities for autistic children and will also work for integrating these children into the society. This plan was first announced in the 2011 edition of World Autism Awareness walk or the Lagos Walk for Autism. The awareness walk, Lagos Walk for Autism was organized in the National Stadium of Surulere Lagos.
Now let us again come back to the consequences of having autism and epilepsy together. The study discussed above was published in a recent issue of Journal of Child Neurology. It proved that when autism and epilepsy take place together, mortality rates increase by over 800%, which is an extremely alarming number. The researchers involved in this study have suggested that understanding the common mechanisms and risk factors that may result in the onset of autism, epilepsy or both of them together is extremely important. According to them, understanding the early determinants of these conditions will allow them to develop effective preventive measures and interventions, which will decrease the mortality rate in children with epilepsy and autism.
According to the report, 39% of patients with autism due to ATP donations were also diagnosed with epilepsy. This rate is much higher compared to the projected number of epilepsy patients among general autism populations. The study also showed that 1 in every 20 children diagnosed to have autism by the age of 3 years either suffers from epilepsy from that age or develops epilepsy at a later stage. These statistics make autism, the 3rd most frequently occurring developmental disorder and also the childhood disorder that is affecting the maximum number of children every year. These numbers were presented by Mr. Okey Nwokolo at the Lagos Walk for Autism. In his appeal to the Government of Nigeria, Nwokolo said that the government should institute an action committee for studying autism from service, policy, educational and health perspectives. Nwokolo also made an appeal to the general population; he requested them to accept and understand patients with autism. He also mention that the only way off correcting skills of autistic children is early screening and treatment of the condition. The later the intervention will initiate the less will be the possibilities of correction of skills of autistic children.
Elizabeth Idigwe, mother of a child who has defeated autism successfully was present at the event. According to her, her child could overcome autism only because of early intervention. She also mentioned that awareness programs like Lagos Walk for Autism helps in removing the discrimination and stigma associated with autism up to a large extent.
The exact cause behind the link between epilepsy and autism is not known till date. However, as researches have shown that the condition turns out to be worse when they occur together, parents of both epileptic and autistic children must be extremely careful.
