Autism

5 Pages 1192 Words

WHAT IS AUTISM:
Autism is a developmental disability that arises during the first three years of life. Autism prevents the parts of the brain that are responsible for social interaction and communication from developing normally. In turn, this effects verbal and non verbal communication. Autism is a lifelong developmental disability, and it occurs in 15 out of every 15,000 births. It is four times more prevalent in males than females. Autism is one disorder that are under a group of disorders called Pervasive Developmental Disorders which is a category of neurological disorders. The other four are Aspergers disorder, childhood disintegrated disorder, Retts disorder, PDD.

COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTISM
Because Autism is a spectrum disorder, people can present with many different symptoms, and combinations of symptoms that vary from very mild to very severe. Autistic people process information in different ways than a normal brain. This may include physical harm to oneself, aggressive behavior, resistance to change, especially in an everyday routine, not being able to express needs, often using gestures or pointing to something that they want, repeating words or phrases, laughing or crying or showing distress for no need, preferring to be alone, temper tantrums, difficulty socializing with other people, no desire to be cuddled, little or no eye contact, no response to normal teaching methods, odd playing styles, inappropriate attachments to objects, over or under sensitivity to pain, no fear of danger, extreme over activity, or extreme under activity, uneven fine/gross motor skills, unresponsive to verbal cues, and walking on toes.
The senses of a child with autism are off. For example, a normal brain would pick up a peach, feel the fuz on their lips, recognize it is a peach, smell the sweetness, taste the peach, and feel the juice run down their face. A child with autism is not able to integrate these senses. Their sen...