About Autism

A child with autism is likely to find it difficult to cope with the rules and lack of structure of 'our' world. This is because he/she will display impairments, to a lesser or greater degree, in three main areas (known as the triad of impairment):

1. Communication - difficulty with all areas of speech; gesture; body language; facial expression etc.

2. Socialisation - difficulties relating to people; poor social skills; obsessional behaviour; poor generalisation skills; little empathy with others; inappropriate eye contact.

3. Imagination - poor theory of mind, fixed thinking; difficulty with abstract ideas and resistance to change.

Autistic children can be upset by a change in their routine and may have some obsessional behaviours. They sometimes have stereotypical motor behaviours such as hand flapping, many have poor sensory awareness and are under or over-sensitive to sound or light or textures.

A multi-disciplinary approach for children with an autistic spectrum disorder is required in order to address the full range of needs.

This information taken from Autistic spectrum disorder

What is Autism? Autism is a lifelong developmental disability. There is no cure for autism though changes in ability and behaviour occur over time, and some individuals show remarkable improvement throughout their lives. Autism is a dysfunction of some parts of the central nervous system (i.e. the brain and nervous system) that affects the way the individual refers to how information is taken in through the senses and stored in the brain). It is how we understand our world and what is happening around us. Cause of Autism There is strong evidence of a biological/neurological basis for autism. New methods for studying brain anatomy and functioning have shown that there are consistent differences between the brains of autistic and non-autistic individuals. It appears that structural differences can occur in one, or several parts of the brain, and still result in autism. There is no single, known cause of autism. Some of the factors believed to be potential causes are: * Genetic factors (there are strong family links) * Exposure to viral diseases and infections (such as measles * Physical trauma (e.g. birth injury) * Metabolic disorders (such as PKU) Poor parenting or lack of love does not cause autism.   Other Facts About Autism There are four times as many males as females affected by autism. For Asperger’s Disorder the ratio is nine males to one female. Autism occurs with equal frequency within all ethnic and socio-economic groups. Many people with autism develop epilepsy, often during puberty and adolescence. There is continuing debate regarding the percentage of people with autism who have intellectual disability. Earlier studies (DeMyer, 1975 and Knoblock, 1982) estimate that about 75-80% of people with Autistic Disorder have intellectual disability. When people with Asperger’s Disorder and Atypical Autism are considered the figure drops toabout 20%.   Variations People with autism vary enormously. The effects of autism may be mild or severe and not every characteristic is evident in every person. Different features of autism may be displayed in different contexts. People with autism, because of their understanding of the world and sensory sensitivities, often experience overwhelming anxiety, frustration and confusion when faced with the demands of everyday life. Anxiety, frustration and confusion may give rise to behaviours like repetitive movements (finger flicking, rocking), self isolating behaviours and sometimes aggression towards others, themselves, or the environment.