Autism 101

Autism is known as a complex developmental disability. Experts believe that Autism presents itself during the first three years of a person's life. The condition is the result of a neurological disorder that has an effect on normal brain function, affecting development of the person's communication and social interaction skills.

People with autism have issues with non-verbal communication, a wide range of social interactions, and activities that include an element of play and/or banter.

Autism (or ASD) is a wide-spectrum disorder. This means that no two people with autism will have exactly the same symptoms. As well as experiencing varying combinations of symptoms, some people will have mild symptoms while others will have severe ones. Below is a list of the most commonly found characteristics identified among people with an ASD.

The three main forms of ASD are Autism, Asperger's and PDD-NOS. Autism forms the core of the autism spectrum disorders. Asperger syndrome is closest to autism in signs and likely causes; unlike autism, Asperger's has no significant delay in language development. Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) is diagnosed when the criteria are not met for a more specific disorder.

The defining characteristics of autism spectrum disorders are qualitative impairments of social communication and interaction, along with restricted and repetitive activities and interests. Individual symptoms occur in the general population and appear not to associate highly, without a sharp line separating pathological severity from common traits.

People with autism also process and respond to information in unique ways. In some cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present. Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits:

• Insistence on sameness; resistance to change
• Difficulty in expressing needs; using gestures or pointing instead of words
• Repeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive language
• Laughing (and/or crying) for no apparent reason; showing distress for reasons not apparent to others
• Preference to being alone; aloof manner
• Tantrums
• Difficulty in mixing with others
• Not wanting to cuddle or be cuddled
• Little or no eye contact
• Unresponsive to normal teaching methods
• Sustained odd play
• Spinning objects
• Obsessive attachment to objects
• Apparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to pain
• No real fears of danger
• Noticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activity
• Uneven gross/fine motor skills
• Non-responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf, although hearing tests are in normal range

An estimated 0.5% to 10% of individuals with ASD show unusual abilities, ranging from splinter skills such as the memorization of trivia to the extraordinarily rare talents of prodigious autistic savants.

Contrary to common belief, children with autism do not prefer to be alone. Making and maintaining friendships often proves to be difficult for those with autism. For them, the quality of friendships, not the number of friends, predicts how lonely they are. Being on the autism spectrum does not keep children from understanding race and gender stereotypes in a society; like normal children they learn stereotypes by observing their parents' actions, such as locking car doors when in certain neighborhoods.