What is Autism?
Autism is a neurologically-based developmental disorder that typically appears before the age of 3. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. For this reason, they have problems knowing how to behave properly in social situations, have trouble relating to the outside world, and have to be taught behaviors that develop normally in most people.
Autism varies in its degree of severity among individuals. For example, some individuals only may be mildly affected and may exhibit only slight delays in language whereas others may not have any lanugage at all. For this reason, milder forms of autism are often referred to as autism spectrum disorders.
SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM
• Social Impairments
- Lacks interest in other children
- Failure to make friends
- Lack of pretend play
- Prefers to be alone
- Difficulty sharing others' interests
- Inappropriate responses or emotional reactions
• Deficits in Communication
- Speech development stops or is extremely slow
- Failure to communicate using words and/or gestures
- Repetitive speech in place of normal conversation
- Pronoun reversals (e.g., he for she; you for I)
- Unusual tone or rhythm of speech
• Restricted, Repetitive Interests and Behaviors
- Resistance to change
- Insistence on sameness
- Compulsive reliance on routines
- Restricted interest in certain activities
- Stereotyped, repetitive behaviors (e.g., hand flapping)
• Other Characteristics
- Over- or under-sensitivity to pain
- Inappropriate attachments to objects
- Uneven gross/fine motor skills
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