EPQ - How successful are antipsychotics, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, and Applied Behaviour Analysis in reducing the severity of autism
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Course
Autism
Institution
AQA
Grade B essay - EPQ (EXAM BOARD - AQA). This essay looks at how different antipsychotics (haloperidol and risperidone) as well as ABA and CBT works on reducing the severity of autism. It includes supporting and contradicting evidence of each treatment.
, Introduction:
Autism:
Autism is a lifelong developmental disorder which can affect an individual by making it difficult to
verbally and non-verbally interact and communicate (NationalAutisticSociety.com, 2016). The
disorder can vary in severity because autism is a spectrum disorder meaning an individual can be
either mildly, moderately or severely autistic. Within the Official Diagnostic Manual (DSM-5) there
are three levels of support which can help clinicians describe and place each individual for the
therapy/support they need. The three levels will reveal a person’s ability to communicate, adapt,
and manage daily life. The first level means the person requires little support, whereas at level 3 very
substantial support is required. Depending on the number of symptoms displayed by an individual
within the Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) they will be placed on different levels of severity. Some
of the behaviours that can be apparent are tantrums, anxiety, insomnia, aggression, etc. (Holland,
2018).
Autism tends to develop before the age of 3 when most parents and careers notice a difference from
other children. Typically, babies start showing signs around the age of 12-18 months but diagnosis
happens approximately after the age of 3 (NIH.gov, 2017), it is to be noted that diagnosis can be
given late into adulthood for some high functioning individuals. Within the UK, around 1 in 100
people are affected by autism, however, in the US there has been a 15% increase in prevalence rate
in the past few years making it to around 1 in 68 individuals as of 2014 (ScienceDaily.com, 2018). In
2007, a British study suggests that ASD was the third most untreated mental illness among adults
and children ranking at approximately 40%, with diabetes coming first and followed by
schizophrenia.
I have decided to base my research on antipsychotics, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) as well as
Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) to examine the success rate on diminishing some of the symptoms
displayed by autism. Antipsychotics were my chosen type of medication because, according to
Sinead Brophy, a professor at Swansea University in the department of Medical School, 75% of the
children who were administered antipsychotics had autism by the NHS. Additionally, CBT was
another one of my treatment options because I want to look at how people with all severities of
autism can benefit from the treatments. While the antipsychotics are more likely to be given to
those with more severe symptoms because of how antipsychotics work, CBT mainly focuses on those
with high-functioning autism (high-functioning autists can manage everyday life similarly to those
without autism) because of the way that CBT works (see page 7). Furthermore, ABA can be used for
all types of severities due to the learning process done (see page 8).
I will be investigating many supporting studies as well as contradicting studies to allow me to
broaden my horizons on how well they work. By being able to look at the results of scientific studies,
I will be able to balance the supporting and opposing results for each type of treatment which can
further help me make a decision on whether the treatment is useful or not. I will be looking at as
many studies as possible (at least 4 studies for each type of treatment) to allow me to have a greater
insight on how other medical professionals measured the success rates in their experiments. The
way I have chosen to measure the success rate of the treatments is by seeing if the benefits
outweigh the risks, such as side effects, and how many patients out of the studies have benefitted
from the treatments in both the short-term and long-term.
In my conclusion, I will be talking summarising around 2 studies from each of the medications and
therapies and I will be looking at what other medical professional are saying about each. Should they
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