C. What factor may influence the prognosis of the client?

Factors that may affect the prognosis of a client with autism are:

IQ Language development Communication ability Social skills General level of impairment

a. Age Autism is a brain disorder that begins in early childhood, usually within the first three years of life and persists throughout adulthood. Autistic traits continue in adulthood, but vary in severity. Some adults with autism do well, earning college degrees and living independently. Others never develop the skills of daily living, and may be incorrectly diagnosed with a variety of psychiatric illnesses. b. Economic Status There was a very significant correlation between prevalence of autism and socioeconomic levels such that wealthier areas had relatively more cases of autism. Children from wealthier families were more likely to receive a diagnosis during early childhood than children from poorer families. Autism may be underdiagnosed in young children from socially disadvantaged communities, denying them the possibility of early intervention and treatment. Autistic disorder was initially reported in children of high social class, subsequent research has established that autistic disorder equally afflicts all social classes. c. Co-existing Problems

Genetic disorders. About 1015% of autism cases have an identifiable Mendelian (single-gene) condition, chromosome abnormality, or other genetic syndrome, and ASD is associated with several genetic disorders. Mental retardation. The fraction of autistic individuals who also meet criteria for mental retardation has been reported as anywhere from 25% to 70%, a wide variation illustrating the difficulty of assessing autistic intelligence. For ASD other than autism, the association with mental retardation is much weaker. Anxiety disorders are common among children with ASD; there are no firm data, but studies have reported prevalence ranging from 11% to 84%. Many anxiety

disorders have symptoms that are better explained by ASD itself, or are hard to distinguish from ASD's symptoms. Epilepsy, with variations in risk of epilepsy due to age, cognitive level, and type of language disorder. Several metabolic defects, such as phenylketonuria, are associated with autistic symptoms. Minor physical anomalies are significantly increased in the autistic population. Pre-empted diagnoses. Although the DSM-IV rules out concurrent diagnosis of many other conditions along with autism, the full criteria for ADHD, Tourette syndrome, and other of these conditions are often present and these comorbid diagnoses are increasingly accepted.

d. Familial Factor Familial influences increase the likelihood that certain families will produce children with autism spectrum disorders. The presence of one child with an autism spectrum disorder increases the likelihood that subsequent siblings will develop an autism spectrum disorder.

Children born into families with a child with an autism spectrum disorder have a risk of also developing an autism spectrum disorder, at a rate of as high as 18.7 %. Female infants born to families with a child with an autism spectrum disorder have 2.8 times the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. Children born to families with 2 or more children with autism spectrum disorders have twice the risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder compared with children with one sibling with an autism spectrum disorder.