A Personal and Research-Based Perspective

Abstract

Autism is referred to development and neurological disorder which usually initiates at an early age and lasts throughout an individual's life. The causes of Autism include genetic factors, low birth weight, fragile X syndrome, having parents with autism, metabolic imbalance, foetal exposure to drugs such as valproic acid and others. It is mentioned that autistic children grow up be young people who face extended complication due to neurological issues. In respect to my personal experience, in my family there is a child who is autistic and therefore the study is significant to be performed so that it can help in understanding the way autism is going to affect the child in the young stage and the complications to be faced by the individual with growing years. In this study, the positivism research philosophy is to be used so that information is presented based on true scientific facts avoid less error in the study. Moreover, deductive research approach will be used in executing the study. In this study, the aim and objectives of the study are properly defined and thus the descriptive research design will be used in executing the research. In this study, mixed research method will be used in executing the study. This indicates that both primary and secondary research will be used to gather data. The results will be gathered by analysing and interpreting the information and data gathered through the interview as well as summarising the journals and articles. The results will inform the challenges and impacts of autism have on the life of young people.

The Spider Diagram presented for the research regarding the topic “How autism affects young people?” indicates that the key health issue to be focussed in the study is autism. Autism is seen to be one of the related health problems mentioned under the Autism Specific Disorder (ASD) along with Asperger syndrome. In relation to this, the difference between Autism and Asperger syndrome is to be discussed to inform the way the two disorders can be differentiated. The impact of autism on society and young individuals is also to be considered to understand why the topic is important to be discussed. According to the diagram, the research is to be further executed to understand the causes, behavioural changes and types of social issues faced by the individuals affected by autism. In order to present the study, secondary as well as primary research is to be used for gathering data. In the process, online research is to b executed and questionnaires are to be developed for collecting information regarding the topic. After execution of the topic, the information gathered is to be used in creating awareness regarding autism so that the better life of the young people in the society who are suffering from the disorder can be established.

Introduction

Autism is referred to development and neurological disorder which usually initiates at an early age and lasts throughout an individual's life. The disorder affects the way a person interacts and acts with others, learns and communicates (Christensen et al. 2018). The Autism is previously included to be known as Asperger syndrome but the two are totally different neurological disorder. This is evident as in people affected by Autism it is seen that they have speech impairments or inability due to which they are unable to proper idioms and phrases in speaking clearly. However, people affected by Asperger syndrome are found to have the ability to speak and annunciate in a clear manner by understanding the subtitles of speech (Baron-Cohen, 2016). Moreover, people with Autism are seen to show symptoms of the disorder from very early age before they enter school but the individuals affected by Asperger syndrome are unable to be detected suffering from the disorder until they face difficulties in studies and interaction at school (Montgomery et al. 2016). This informs that people affected by Autism show greater neurological disorder compared to people affected by Asperger syndrome though most of the symptoms are similar in nature for both the disorder.

The causes of Autism include genetic factors, low birth weight, fragile X syndrome, having parents with autism, metabolic imbalance, foetal exposure to drugs such as valproic acid and others (Bahmani et al. 2016). The symptoms of Autism become clear by the age of 12-24 months of age in the child. The early symptoms of Autism include delayed language as well as social development. The Autistic individuals with problems in social communication experience issues while interacting with others including facing difficulty to share emotion and interest or continue a back and forth communication. In non-verbal communication, the autistic people experience trouble to maintain proper eye contact or ability to read body language as well as face problems in maintaining relationships (Srivastava and Sahin, 2017). The autistic children also show restrictive or repetitive behavioural patterns in which they execute motions and develop speech in repetitive manner, develop rigid adherence with certain routines, fixate interest and grow decreased or increased sensitivity to different sensory information in the environment (Dhariyal et al. 2019).

In the UK, Autism is a common neurological disorder as it has affected more than 700,000 individuals living in the country. It is reported that 34% of autistic children are bullied at school along with 17% of them suspended from attending school due to their inappropriate behaviour (autism.org.uk, 2019). In the UK, only 16% of young people suffering from autism are in full-time employment and among them only 32% reported to receive proper payment for their work (autism.org.uk, 2019). This indicates that autistic young people in the UK face issues with employment and finances due to their health disorder. Further, only 10% of the UK individuals having autism are seen to receive employment support whereas 53% of the total population suffering from autism actually require the support (autism.org.uk, 2019). This indicates that many autistic young people in the UK also do not have proper assistance to improve their social condition and achieve employment. Thus, the study is important so that better understanding regarding the way autism impacts the young people due to which they are facing discrimination and lack of support in the society can be developed. It is also mentioned that autistic children grow up be young people who face extended complication due to neurological issues (Van der Hallen et al. 2017). In respect to my personal experience, in my family there is a child who is autistic and therefore the study is significant to be performed so that it can help in understanding the way autism is going to affect the child in the young stage and the complications to be faced by the individual with growing years.

Aim and Objectives of the study

The aim of the study is to identify the way autism impact on the young people in the society.

The objectives of the study are:

To identify concept of autism in young people

To analyse the impact of autism on young people in the society

To evaluate challenges faced by young people due to autism

To recommend strategies to resolve challenges faced by young people in the society as a result of autism

Research Methodology

The research methodology is significant part of the study as identifying suitable methods would help the researcher to understand the way research is to be organised in a systematic manner for resolving identified problems raised in the study. Therefore, research methodology is to be effectively framed so that the objectives of the study are properly fulfilled.

There are mainly two types of research philosophy that are positivism and interpretivism. As commented by Abu-Alhaija (2019), positivism research philosophy informs that factual knowledge which is gained through scientific observation is trustworthy to be used in executing any research. This is because it would help to use scientifically proved evidence in resolving the raised issues in the study. As argued by Hiller (2016), interpretivism research philosophy interprets evidence by considering the human perception and opinions regarding the raised issue. This leads to create error in the study as the perception of each human regarding specific topic may vary and there may not be substantial proof to support the perceptions. Thus, in this study, the positivism research philosophy is to be used so that information is presented based on true scientific facts avoid less error in the study.

The research approaches are of two types which are deductive and inductive research approach. As asserted by Guldberg (2017), in deductive research approach a known phenomenon or theory is analysed and tested to understand its validity in certain circumstances. This indicates that deductive research develops hypothesis which is examined in the study to determine their validity. As criticised by Kamau (2017), the inductive research approach is involved with the generation of new theory from the collected data. In this study, there is no scope for the development of new theories regarding the way autism affects the young people. Therefore, deductive research approach will be used in executing the study.

The three key research designs are descriptive, explanatory and exploratory research design. As asserted by Mckeithan and Sabornie (2019), descriptive research design is the process that includes describing and observing behaviour of a certain subject without influencing them. In addition, descriptive research design is used in studies which have clarified aim and objectives. The explanatory and explanatory research design is used in studies where the research problem is not identified and the aims, as well as objectives of the study, are properly defined (Amos et al. 2019). In this study, the aim and objectives of the study are properly defined and thus the descriptive research design will be used in executing the research.

The data collection is through two different ways that are primary research and secondary research. In the primary research, the data for the study are obtained from participants who have effective perception regarding the research topic. However, in secondary research, the data are collected by analysing and summarising the existing information present in journals and articles (Hudry et al. 2018). In this study, mixed research method will be used in executing the study. This indicates that both primary and secondary research will be used to gather data. It is effective as advantage of primary research is going to resolve the limitation created by using secondary research and vice versa (Frantzen and Fetters, 2016). The primary researches are of two types that are qualitative study and quantitative study. In qualitative study, the views and opinions of participants are considered which are gathered through interview to resolve the raised problems in the study. However, in quantitative study, the numeric data collected through surveying the participants are used in resolving the raised problem in the study (Petrina et al. 2016). In this study, the qualitative study is to be used under primary research to gather data. In the process, the interview of 5 health professionals who are involved in managing and treatment of autistic people will be executed by using open-ended questionnaire to understand the way autisms affects the young people. The qualitative data through secondary research is to be collected by analysing journals and articles related to autism among children and young people.

Ethical Consideration

The Data Protection Act 1998 informs that no personal information is to be made public without the prior permission of the owner (legislation.gov.uk, 1998). Thus, in the study, while executing interview of the participants no personal details will be shared and the responses will be destroyed after execution of the study. Moreover, the participants will be informed in details regarding the way their responses are to be used and will be allowed to leave the interview in the mid way if they feel their privacy is not being protected. The information and data to be presented from the articles and journals will be properly referenced so that proper credits to the authors are provided.

Anticipated Results

The results will be gathered by analysing and interpreting the information and data gathered through interview as well as summarising the journals and articles. The results will inform the challenges and impacts of autism have on the life of young people.

Anticipated Discussion

The discussion will inform regarding the concept people have resulting young people autism. The impact of autism on the social and personal life of the young people will also be discussed. The challenges faced by young people as result of autism will be discussed as well as strategies that will be developed to improve their condition in leading a normal life will be mentioned.

References

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