What is Autism?

Clinical components of autism

Autism is one of five pervasive developmental disorders, which are commonly referred to as autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

The other ASD’s are Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Aspergers Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD) and Rett Syndrome.

Children with an ASD show specific behavioral, motor and cognitive deficits that differ in severity, combination and age of onset. Multiple areas of development are affected by autism, making this a complex developmental disorder.

While autism manifests itself differently in each child, all children diagnosed with autism show marked impairment in the following areas before three years of age:

Social interaction – children with autism have a difficult time engaging in age appropriate reciprocal social interactions

Communication – children with autism have difficulty communicating in developmentally appropriate ways

Restricted repetitive interests or activities – children with autism have limited interests or engage in repetitious activities 

• Developmental pediatricians,
• Psychologists or an Interdisciplinary team of
• Clinical professionals

What causes Autism?

As of today, there is no clear answer to this question. We know some cases of autism exist alongside genetic disorders such as Fragile X.  In addition to genetics, there are many theories being investigated by researchers in hopes of understanding what causes autism.

Some current research is focused on identifying environmental components that may trigger or contribute to autism.  Another interest of autism researchers is the possibility that autism is due to neuro-immune dysfunction.  Quite plausible is the theory autism is caused by some combination of the above or by something else entirely.  We simply do not know for certain.

Is there a cure for Autism?

Currently, there is no cure for autism. Parents, persons with autism and researchers alike hope to determine the cause of autism so we can begin developing a cure.

Despite no cure for autism, there are many therapies, programs and interventions available to help your child succeed. 

 What does a child with Autism look like?

Observable Characteristics

Now you know the clinical components associated with autism, it makes sense to discuss how these symptoms translate into everyday life.  In other words, what does a child with autism look, sound and behave like?

It is an inaccurate assumption that all children with autism are the same simply because they share the same diagnosis.  In fact, no two children with autism are affected the same way by this disorder.

However, there are common characteristics children with autism display.  Your child may exhibit all, some or none of these.

Common Characteristics Observed in Children with Autism

Social Interaction

• Difficulty with imaginary and creative play

• Lack of, or limited, eye contact

• Limited ability to cope and manage anxiety and emotions

• Limited understanding of danger

• Trouble understanding and interpreting the thoughts, perspective and emotions of others (Theory of Mind)

• Difficulty understanding social appropriateness

• May make inappropriate statements

• May exhibit socially unacceptable behaviors

• Difficulty understanding social rules (such as waiting in line)

• Inability to understand, interpret or use:

• Facial expressions

• Non-verbal communication (gestures)

• Verbal communication

Communication

• Many children with autism are non-verbal

• Delayed expressive and receptive language (speaking and understanding verbal communication)

• Difficulty understanding sarcasm, jokes or non-literal phrases

• Echolalia (repeating a word or phrase without understanding its meaning)

• Other verbal oddities – chanting, humming, unique sounds

• Difficulty asking or understanding intangible concepts (when, what, why)

Behavior, Interest and Sensory Differences

• Extreme need for routine

• Difficulty controlling and managing emotions

• Excessively intense or restricted interests and activities (maps, dates)

• Difficulty with changes in routine, especially the unexpected

• Difficulty transitioning activity or environment

• Odd behaviors (rocking, hand-flapping, spinning, chanting)

• Sensory integration difficulties

• Each sense may be hyper or hypo-sensitive

• May avoid or seek out certain sensory input (auditory, visual, tactile, olfactory, taste and movement) 

Your child will undoubtedly have a unique set of abilities to work with and challenges to overcome.  Learning how autism manifests in your child will allow you to better determine strategies to help your child be successful at home, school and in the community.

The rest of the information about autism can be found by downloading the 'what is autism' eBook by clicking here

Topics include

• How is autism treated?

• Applied Behavioural Analysis

• Floortime or Developmental Individual Difference Relationship Model

• Social-Communication-Emotional Regulation-Transactional Support

• Training and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH)

• Related Therapies

• How will Autism affect my family?

• Loving and living with a child that has Autism

• Ways to help cope with the diagnosis and ongoing emotions of having a child with autism

• Parents & Caregivers

• Siblings

• Extended family

• Stress management

• Finances

About the Author

Amber Kane is the owner of Autism Connection, and the m other of three children, two that include a teenage son with Asperger Syndrome and a younger son with autism.  Through Autism Connection, Amber has launched an autism awareness campaign; trained a wide variety of professionals regarding autism; and, has provided families with children’s clubs, parent programs and educational opportunities.  An active community member, she is an author and guest writer for the Batavia Daily News, and a local autism consultant.  Amber completed her Associates degree and is currently a McNair Scholar, studying Childhood Development, at the New York State University at Buffalo.  For more information vist –  HYPERLINK "http://www.autismconnection.org" www.autismconnection.org or contact Amber at Akane@autismconnection.org

Our A-Z jargon buster gives explanations of terms used in the field of autism and Asperger syndrome. Some terms are central to autism, some describe related or concurring conditions: many are terms parents may hear, particularly from professionals working with and for them. The source of all terms is included.

 Glossary of terms A-D

Glossary of terms E-H

Glossary of terms I-Q

Glossary of terms R-Z

Thanks to the National Autism Society For this jargon buster - www.nas.org.uk

Autism: a spectrum of conditions

Before finding out what it's like to have an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it's important to understand that all these terms carry a very wide variety of meanings, so it's hard to generalise about the experience of living with it day to day.  This page is intended as a rough guide for 'neurotypicals' (people who don't have autism or Asperger syndrome).

Autism is called a 'spectrum' disorder.  This means an individual may present a wide range of difficulties from mild to acute.  Furthermore, these difficulties can very widely from one individual to another.  Difficulties may also vary for an individual person on a daily basis so that they may be more or less sensitive to particular things on different days.

Asperger syndrome (AS) is a form of autism used to describe people at the higher functioning end of the spectrum.  People with AS do not usually have the accompanying learning disabilities associated with autism and their language skills are highly developed.  However, they still have difficulty understanding language and communication.  At the lower functioning end of the spectrum is Kanner syndrome, sometimes referred to as 'classic autism'.

So what's like to have an ASD?

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects social and communication skills. People with an ASD may find it difficult to understand how the world and people around them operate and also find it hard to interact. In particular, people with an ASD may have trouble learning, understanding and interpreting the unwritten rules of social interaction and relationships that most people without an ASD can take for granted.

Reality to an autistic person is a confusing mass of events, people,
places, sounds and sights. There seem to be no clear boundaries, order or meaning to anything. A large part of my life is spent just trying to work out the pattern behind everything.

A person with autism

Social interaction and communication are key aspects of our daily lives and
they determine our ability to fit in and function in society.

Try to imagine if you suddenly woke up in a foreign country where you did not speak the language and had no way of effectively communicating with the people around you. On top of this, imagine how it would be if the people around you had a different set of social rules (such as the way they greet one another when meeting), which you could not work out.

How would you feel? How would you react? How would you cope?

To varying degrees, this is how people with an ASD experience their
surroundings every day and their initial responses are often to find unique
ways of understanding and coping with the situations in which they find
themselves. This is why they may behave and act in ways that may appear
odd or even mischievous, and these reactions may effectively isolate the
individual from the world even more.

Autism is not a physical disability, so the condition can be invisible to the rest of the world. It is easy to tell that a person in a wheelchair has a physical disability that may require support and understanding, whereas people with an autism spectrum disorder look just like anybody without a disability. This means it can be extremely difficult to raise awareness and foster an understanding of the condition.

In particular, children with an ASD are often mistakenly described as being
naughty and other people assume that the parents are simply not controlling their child properly.

Approximately 70% of all people with autism (excluding other autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger syndrome) may also have accompanying learning difficulties (Fombonne, 2005). People with Asperger syndrome commonly have average or above average intelligence (Wing, 1996). Whatever their level of ability, people with an ASD share a common difficulty in making sense of the world.

Taken from The National Autism Society - WWW.NAS.ORG.UK