What are People with Autism Like? Children with
autism often appear relatively normal
in their development until the age of 24-30 months, when parents may notice delays
in
language, play or social interaction.
The following areas are among those that
may be affected by autism:
Communication: language
develops slowly or not at all; use of words without
attaching the usual meaning to them; communicates with gestures instead of words;
short attention spans.
Social Interaction: spends time alone rather than
with others; shows little interest
in making friends; less responsible to social cues such as eye contact or smiles.
Sensory Impairment: unusual reactions to physical
sensations such as being overly
sensitive to touch or under-responsive to pain- sight, hearing, touch, pain, smell,
taste
may
be affected to a lesser or greater degree.
Play: lack of spontaneous or imaginative play; does
not initiate others actions;
doesn't initiate pretend games.
Behaviors: may be overactive or very passive, throw frequent
tantrums for no apparent
reason; may perseverate on a single item, idea or person; apparent lack of common
sense;
may show aggressive or violent behavior or injure self
There are great differences among people with autism. Some individuals mildly affected
may exhibit only slight delays in language and greater challenges with social interactions.
They may have average or above average verbal, memory or spatial skills but find
it difficult
to be imaginative or join in a game of softball with their
fiends. Others more severely
affected may need greater assistance in handling day to day
activities like crossing the
street or making a purchase.
Contrary to popular understanding, many children
and adults with autism make eye contact,
show affection, smile and laughs and show a variety of other
emotions, but in varying
degrees. Like other children, they respond to their
environment in positive and
negative ways. The autism may affect their range of responses and make it
more difficult
to control how their body and mind react. They live normal life spans
and the behaviors
associated with autism may change or disappear over time.
While no one can predict the future, we do know
that some adults with autism live and
work independently in the community, while others depend on the support of family
and
professionals. Adults ,with autism can benefit from vocational training to
provide them
with the skills needed for obtaining jobs, in addition to social and recreational
programs.
Adults with autism may live in a variety of residential settings, ranging from independent
home or apartments to group homes, supervised apartment settings, living
with other
family members to more structured residential care.
Individuals with autism may have other disorders
which affect the functioning of the brain,
such as epilepsy, mental retardation, or genetic disorders, such as Fragile X Syndrome.
About two-thirds of those diagnosed with autism will test in the range of mental
retardation.
Approximately 25-30% may develop a seizure pattern at some period during life.
From the Autism Society of America's web page
[http://www.autism-society.org/]
entitled
'What is Autism?" developed and maintained on behalf of the ASA by Catriona
Johnson & Ben Dorman.
Autism Society of America, 7910 Woodmont Ave, Suite 650, Bethesda, MD 20814-3015
tel: 1-800-3AUTISM (301) 657-0881; fax: (301) 657-0869.
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