What is autism?

Autism guide

Autism has not been well understood by people for many years now. For this reason, a large number of parents tend to panic when told that their children are autistic. This is a psychiatric disorder, which is most often diagnosed in the child’s early years. Parents need to be attentive towards a youngster’s communication skills and interaction abilities.

Language inadequacy, strange behavior that includes recurring acts and unreasonable affection for some things or any type of intellectual insufficiency are all tell tale signs of autism. In medical terms it can be referred to as a disability that effects development within three years of a child’s life.

The neurological differences disturb regular brain functions impacting verbal and other communication. This spectrum disorder has varied effects on different individuals. An early diagnosis helps understand the pattern of the disorder and goes a long way in benefiting a child right through his/her life. Autism can be dealt with by sending affected children to special schools and specialized intervention programs.

Autism is amongst the five disorders that are characterized as Pervasive Developmental Disorders. In medical terms, it is a neurological disorder wherein the affected individual is faced with severe and all-encompassing impairment in quite a few areas of maturity. Autism is known to affect 1 in 166 births as per the Centers for Disease Control Prevention report in 2004. The real truth is this implies that some form of the disease affects about 1.5 million Americans.

The U.S. Department of Education and other governmental agencies suggest that autism has been increasing at 10-17 percent annually. The presence of autism is of a global character. The only clear statistics reveal that autism is 4 times more common in boys in comparison to girls. Autism clearly consists of a unique type of behavior but its severity varies greatly in people. So much so that two people diagnosed in a similar capacity are likely to act very differently from each other apart from having dissimilar capabilities.

When diagnosed with autism some individuals may be affected only by insignificant delays in language comprehension but greater inadequacies in social interactions. This hinders their ability to initiate or continue a conversation. Certain individuals may also display aggression or self-injurious traits. In varying capacities they tend to resist change, perform repetitive gestures and would rather use sign language than use words. They are likely to cry for no obvious reason and could get distressed very easily.

Children who are autistic are either born with the disorder or have an increased potential of developing autism. It is important to realize that autism does not occur because of parental negligence. Misconceptions regarding autism are that it is a mental illness and that autistic children are all unruly. There is absolutely no conclusive medical or scientific evidence that can relate autism being caused by psychological factors.