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