Autism

Autism is a brain disorder that usually affects a person’s ability to communicate, form relationships, and respond appropriately to their environment (people with autism do not have exactly the same symptoms and deficits, but share some social, communication, motor, and sensory problems that affect their behavior).

Most children with autism seem to have difficulty learning to engage in everyday human interaction. Even in the first few months of life, many avoid eye contact and seem to prefer being alone. They may resist attention and affection or passively accept hugs and cuddling: later, they seldom seek comfort, respond to anger, or affection. Also they take longer to interpret what others are thinking and feeling by subtle social cues like gestures and facial expressions. To make the matter worse, people with autism have problems seeing things from another person’s perspective making them unable to predict or understand other people’s actions.

Some people with autism also tend to be aggressive at times, making social relationships still more difficult. Some lose control, particularly when they’re in a strange or overwhelming environment, or when angry and frustrated. They are capable at times of breaking things, attacking others, or harming themselves.

Research shows that about half of the children diagnosed with autism remain mute throughout their lives. Although they may learn to communicate using sign language or special electronic equipment, they may never speak. Others may be delayed, developing language as late as age 5 to 8. Those who do speak seem unable to combine words into sentences, speak only single words, or repeat the same phrase no matter what the situation. Some children with autism are only able to parrot what they hear, a condition called echolalia. Without persistent training, echoing other people's phrases may be the only language that people with autism ever acquire. They also fail to grasp pronouns like "my," "I," and "you," change meaning depending on who is speaking.

Although children with autism usually appear physically normal and have good muscle control, odd repetitive motions may set them off from other children; a child might spend hours repeatedly flicking or flapping her fingers, rocking back and forth, flail their arms, walk on their toes, or suddenly freeze in position. Some people with autism also tend to repeat certain actions over and over.

Children with autism develop troublesome fixations with specific objects, which can lead to unhealthy or dangerous behaviors. For unexplained reasons, people with autism demand consistency in their environment. A minor change in their routine may be tremendously upsetting. Perhaps the order and sameness lends some stability in a world of sensory confusion. Imaginative play is limited by these repetitive behaviors and obsessions.

If sensory information is faulty or if the input from the various senses fails to merge into a coherent picture, the child's experiences of the world can be confusing. People with autism seem to have one or both of these problems. There may be problems in the sensory signals that reach the brain or in the integration of the sensory signals-and quite possibly, both.

Apparently, as a result of a brain malfunction, many children with autism are highly attuned or even painfully sensitive to certain sounds, textures, tastes, and smells. The brain also seems unable to balance the senses appropriately and sometimes the senses are even scrambled.

To date, there are no medical tests like x-rays or blood tests that detect autism. In addition, several conditions can cause symptoms that resemble those of autism. Autism specialists use a variety of methods to identify the disorder. Specialists may also consider other conditions that produce many of the same behaviors and symptoms as autism, such as Rett's Disorder or Asperger's Disorder. After assessing observations and test results, the specialist makes a diagnosis of autism only if there is clear evidence.