Understanding Autism

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Autism

Imagine you walk into a classroom and you see a child sitting alone at a desk, almost in their own world. Or maybe you see a person sitting at a park, rocking back and forth, talking to themselves. The chances are these people may have autism. 15 of every 10,000 births result in a person with this life altering disorder (source 1). Autism is a developmental disability of the brain that affects communication. There is no cure for this disability and few answers of how to treat it.

There are many misconceptions about autism. Some may say it is a form of mental retardation. The truth is autistic people display a broad spectrum of intelligence levels. Many are extremely gifted in certain areas but unable to comprehend the simplest behaviors or facts. It has been speculated that Albert Einstein was in fact autistic (source 1). Even though most with autism excel in limited topics they should not be confused with someone that has savant syndrome. Savant syndrome was publicized in the movie Rain Man, where the character displays a fascinating ability for mathematics.

Autism is similar to Asperger's syndrome but the main difference is people with Asperger's are more likely to communicate effectively opposed to people with autism who don't (source 1). Autism can occur by itself or with other developmental or brain disorders. Autism may be coupled with Attention Deficit Disorder or dyslexia and so on. Parents usually notice that there may be something wrong with their child when they are around three years old (source 2). They notice that they don't obey verbal commands and they might begin to think they have a hearing problem. Also they begin to notice that their child doesn't socialize well with othe...

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...s all educational and racial boundaries and therefore no one is immune. This disability can affect anyone and for that reason it should never be ignored.

Bibliography

(Source 1)

www.autistics.org. "What is autism?"

(Source 2)

http://ani.autistics.us/ASA_defn.html "ASA autism definition."

(Source 3)

http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/hw/mental_health/hw152190.asp

(Source 4)

Volkmar FR, Klin A (2000). Pervasive developmental disorders. In BJ Sadock, VA

Ed., Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive textbook of Psychiatry, vol 2, pp. 2659-2678. Philadephia:Lippincott Williams and Williams.

(Source 5)

http://www.autistics.org/library/autadult.html

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