| Autism is a complex neurological disorder that | | | | indifferent, showing no interest to the people around |
| dramatically affects people's behaviors and social | | | | them. |
| interactions. The disorder can be revealed in early | | | | Egocentrism is a major behavioral characteristic of |
| childhood, by the age of 3. Although the first signs of | | | | children with autism, who may even ignore the |
| autism can sometimes be identified in infants, the | | | | presence of their mothers or caretakers, avoiding any |
| disorder is usually discovered at a later stage of life. | | | | form of interaction with them. In early childhood, |
| Autistic children present a wide range of behavioral | | | | autistics develop repetitive, stereotype behaviors and |
| abnormalities, and they can be easily identified among | | | | become very upset if their routine is perturbed. In many |
| normal children. While normal young children long for | | | | cases, autistic children may also engage in self-harm |
| the presence of their parents and love to play in the | | | | activities such as head-banging. |
| company of other kids, autistic children are very | | | | |