| Autism is a brain disorder that begins in early | | | | pregnancy. Diagnosis is based on a list of psychiatric |
| childhood, usually within the first three years of life | | | | criteria as well as a series of standardized clinical tests |
| and persists throughout adulthood. It affects crucial | | | | are also used. |
| areas of development and exhibits following | | | | Surprisingly some autistic individuals may be |
| symptoms like: | | | | outstandingly good at some kinds of mental |
| ·learning difficulties i.e. he lacks in ability to learn | | | | manipulations for example, arithmetical calculations, |
| inductively from surrounding events, | | | | music, drawing etc. |
| ·communication or speech problems, | | | | With intense therapy, practice and schooling, some |
| ·difficulty relating to people, marked by a lack of | | | | children diagnosed with autism can improve their |
| awareness of the feelings of others, indifferent to | | | | social and other skills to the point where they can |
| parents | | | | fully participate in mainstream education and social |
| ·lack of social interaction, | | | | events, but there are no indications that a cure from |
| ·short attention span, | | | | autism is possible with current technology or |
| ·not exhibiting creative or imaginative play, | | | | advances in medicine. |
| ·performing actions that are often repetitive and | | | | Asperger's syndrome and developmental delay |
| unchanging like twirling objects or rocking, | | | | syndromes are two of the related categories of |
| ·reacting extremely to changes in the immediate | | | | Autism. These syndromes exist because of brain |
| environment. | | | | circuitry problems. |
| Autistic children appear to lack the ability to see | | | | A key indicator to physicians making a proper |
| things from another person's perspective, a behavior | | | | assessment for autism would include looking for |
| cited as exclusive to human beings above the age of | | | | symptoms found in 'sensory integration dysfunction', |
| five and possibly in some primates. | | | | where children will exhibit problems such as |
| Autistic traits continue into adulthood, but vary in | | | | oversensitivity or under-reactivity to touch, |
| severity. Some adults with autism do well, earning | | | | movement, sights, or sounds; physical clumsiness; |
| college degrees and living independently. Others never | | | | poor body awareness; a tendency to be easily |
| develop the skills of daily living, and may be | | | | distracted; impulsive physical or verbal behavior; an |
| incorrectly diagnosed with a variety of psychiatric | | | | activity level that is unusually high or low; not |
| illnesses. | | | | unwinding or calming oneself; difficulty learning new |
| Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder with an | | | | movements; difficulty in making transitions from one |
| unknown origin. It is a bioneurological disorder and not | | | | situation to another. Autistic people may experience |
| a mental illness, which affects the functioning of the | | | | difficulty in hearing certain people's voice while others' |
| brain. Some theories suggest that it may be caused | | | | are louder than usual. |
| by genetics, viral and/or chemical exposure during | | | | |