| Autism is disorder that effects brain development. | | | | is like being among an alien race. They are not |
| It is commonly characterized by repetitive | | | | able to understand any of the non-verbal |
| behaviors like counting and stacking. It also tends | | | | communication that makes up such a large part |
| to impair social skills and the ability to | | | | of human interaction. |
| communicate with others. The signs of autism can | | | | Autism can be displayed in different levels of |
| be detected in very young children, even under | | | | severity. More than a third of autism sufferers do |
| the age of three. It affects six out of every | | | | not develop speech skills enough to be fully |
| thousand people and is four times as likely to | | | | functional. This stunted development can be |
| affect boys as girls. Many more cases of autism | | | | tracked from the first year of life when autistic |
| are reported today compared with twenty years | | | | children babble less than other children. They may |
| ago, but it is not clear whether it is becoming | | | | also exhibit unusual gestures and vocal patterns |
| more common or if reporting is increasing with | | | | and fail to coordinate their vocal patterns with |
| better understanding of the disorder. | | | | those of the caregiver. As children get older, they |
| Autism affects the brain in ways that are not | | | | are less likely to make requests or share their |
| completely understood. If parents notice | | | | experiences, both signs of a lack of connection |
| symptoms early enough then behavioral | | | | with other people. |
| intervention can help children develop social skills, | | | | Highly functional autistic people can have excellent |
| but there is no way to cure them of disorder. | | | | vocabularies and spelling and be very well spoken. |
| One sign of autism is a child that does not smile | | | | But they still have trouble with complicated |
| or pay attention to other people. They are less | | | | language tasks like reading comprehension or |
| likely to make eye contact and are much more | | | | inferences. Concepts like sarcasm are totally lost |
| likely to communicate by grabbing a parent's hand. | | | | on them. In fact it would be difficult to even |
| Autistic children will not often mimic or even | | | | explain the concept to an autistic person in a way |
| respond to different expressions or emotions, a | | | | that they could understand. |
| common way that children learn basic social skills. | | | | There are treatments available for autism, none |
| Most autism sufferers will not be capable of living | | | | of which can provide a cure. Their focus instead is |
| on their own as adults, although a small number | | | | to improve the quality of life for the autistic |
| are able to live independently. | | | | person and their family. There is no consensus on |
| The major social skill that autistic people lack is | | | | the best methods as every case seems to be |
| the ability to understand the intentions of other | | | | different, but some systematic treatment is |
| people. This is a skill that most of us take for | | | | better than none. With me, an autistic person can |
| granted. For a person with autism, being among | | | | gain a certain level of functional independence and |
| people, even people they have known all their life, | | | | learn to approximate basic social skills. |