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severe difficulties with talking to and understanding other people great trouble with friendships, relationships and other social interactions unusual behaviors, frequent tantrums and a great need for routine and sameness poorly developed sensory integration - their environment is a confusing place to be A child with Autism may not speak at all, or have limited use of speech, will probably not be able to play games or make friends, may be unusually sensitive to sound, taste, smell, touch and sight, and will display a range of unusual, often repetitive behaviors. Adults with Autism, if they have received specialist intervention, are able to partly overcome these difficulties, but continue to require sensitive and sustained support, usually from their families. The degree of impairment can vary from mild to severe. There are many degrees of autism; only a very few cases are savants with spectacular skills such as those popularized by actor Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man The majority by far, are children whose unnatural, unreachable silence and repetitive, self-absorbed movements like rocking, are punctuated by explosive tantrums with kicking, screaming and self-hitting. how we've dealt with autism.  |
Autism is a neurological disorder that severely affects a child's ability to develop communication skills and social interactions. The child lives in a world of his own. Its rate of occurrence has increased to about one in 400 children. Autism shows up about 18 months of age or older. It mostly affects boys, at a ratio of 4-to-1. No one knows what causes autism, and as yet there is no cure.