Blog 5A: Science Fair Problem Statement

1) Topic:  In light of how difficult my topic of Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry would be, I've decided to change it to Autism Spectrum Disorders.

2) Problem: How to diagnose the disorders properly. Sometimes symptoms can be missed and without treatment, the illness can escalate. Once I solve the problem or find a theoretical solution, I can suggest ways to improve diagnoses to professionals or publish an academic paper.

• Sub Problem: Not catching the disorder early on. Girls have a more social inclination and therefore autistic symptoms are not more apparent. If I were to solve this problem, I could design a more effective and possibly extensive diagnoses plan to make sure no symptoms are missed.

3) Problem: Scientists are uncertain of causes of autism. Because of this, there is no real way to prevent it. Perhaps there is a defective chromosome like Down Syndrome, or maybe it's something in the environment. If I could find out a concrete cause, then I could raise awareness not of autism but my finding in the causes.