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Understanding Autism—The Basics
What Is Autism?Autism isn't a disease, it's a symptom. It ranges in severity from a handicap that limits an otherwise normal life to a devastating disability requiring institutional care. Autism is one of the most common developmental disabilities. Including the milder form of autism known as pervasive developmental disorder or PDD, autism affects more than six out of every 1,000 children. Children with autism have trouble communicating. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it very hard for them to express themselves either with words or through gestures, facial expressions and touch. An autistic child who is very sensitive may be greatly troubled—sometimes even pained—by sounds, touches, smells or sights that seem normal to others. Autistic children may have repeated body movements such as rocking or hand flapping. They may have unusual responses to people, attachments to objects, resistance to change in their routines and/or aggressive or self-injurious behavior. At times they may seem not to notice people, objects or activities in their surroundings. Some children with autism also develop seizures, in some cases not until adolescence. Many autistic people are mentally retarded, although most people with PDD have normal or even above-average intelligence. In contrast to mental retardation alone, which is characterized by relatively even skill development, people with autism show uneven skill development. They may have problems in certain areas, especially the ability to communicate and relate to others. But they may have unusually developed skills in other areas, such as drawing, creating music, solving math problems or memorizing facts. For this reason, they may test higher—perhaps even in the average or above-average range—on nonverbal intelligence tests. Understanding Autism—The Basics continues…
SOURCES: Parker S, Zuckerman, B and Augustyn M. (editors). Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics: A Handbook for Primary Care, Lippincott, 2005.
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