Frequently Asked Questions: This page contains answers to common questions of students and parents.
- What is Autism?
- What are the characteristics of autism?
- What causes autism?
- How common is autism?
- Who is affected with autism?
- What is the most common problem in autism?
- How does autism affect behavior?
- How severe are behavior problems in people with autism?
- Does autism occur in conjunction with other disabilities?
- What is the difference between Autism and Mental Retardation?
- Can people with autism be helped? How can persons with autism learn be
- What Is Asperger Syndrome?
What is Autism?
Autism is a life-long developmental disability that prevents individuals from
properly understanding what they see, hear, and otherwise sense. This results
in severe problems of social relationships, communication, and behavior.
Individuals with autism have to painstakingly learn normal patterns of speech
and communication, and appropriate ways to relate to people, objects, and
events.
What are the characteristics of autism?
The degree of severity of characteristics differs from person to person, but
usually includes the following:
Severe delays in language development.
Language is slow to develop, if it develops at all. If it does develop, it
usually includes peculiar speech patterns or the use of words without
attachment to their normal meaning. Those who are able to use language
effectively may still use unusual metaphors or speak in a formal and monotone
voice.
Severe delays in understanding social relationships.
The autistic child often avoids eye contact, resists being picked up, and
seems to "tune out" the world around him. This results in a lack of
cooperative play with peers, an impaired ability to develop friendships, and
an inability to understand other people's feelings.
Inconsistent Patterns of sensory responses.
The child who has autism at times may appear to be deaf and fail to respond
to words or other sounds. At other times, the same child may be extremely
distressed by an everyday noise such as a vacuum cleaner or a dog's barking.
The child also may show an apparent insensitivity to pain and a lack of
responsiveness to cold or heat, or may over-react to any of these.
Uneven patterns of intellectual functioning.
The individual may have peak skills - scattered things done quite well in
relation to overall functioning - such as drawing, music, computations in
math, or memorization of facts with no regard to importance or lack of it. On
the other hand, the majority of autistic persons have varying degrees of
mental retardation, with only 20 percent having average or above-average
intelligence. This combination of intellectual variations makes autism
especially perplexing.
Marked restriction of activity and interests.
A person who has autism may perform repetitive body movements, such as hand
flicking, twisting, spinning, or rocking. This individual may also display
repetition by following the same route, the same order of dressing, or the
same schedule everyday, etc. If changes occur in these routines, the
preoccupied child or adult usually becomes very distressed.
What causes autism?
Autism is a brain disorder, present from birth, which affects the way the
brain uses information. The cause of autism is still unknown. Some research
suggests a physical problem affecting those parts of the brain that process
language and information coming in from the senses. There may be some
imbalance of certain chemicals in the brain. Genetic factors may sometimes be
involved. Autism may indeed result from a combination of several "causes".
No factors in the psychological environment of the child cause autism.
How common is autism?
Autism is one of the four major developmental disabilities. It occurs in one
to two of every 1000 births.
Who is affected with autism?
Autism is distributed throughout the world among all races, nationalities,
and social classes. Four of every five people with autism are male.
What is the most common problem in autism?
Individuals with autism have extreme difficulty in learning language and
social skills and in relating to people.
How does autism affect behavior?
In addition to severe language and socialization problems, people with autism
often experience extreme hyperactivity or unusual passivity in relating to
parents, family members, and other people.
How severe are behavior problems in people with autism?
In autism, behavior problems range from very severe to mild. Severe behavior
problems take the form of highly unusual, aggressive, and in some cases, even
self-injurious behavior. These behaviors may persist and be difficult to
change.
In its milder form, autism resembles a learning disability. Usually,
however, even people who are only mildly affected are substantially
handicapped due to deficits in the areas of communication and socialization.
Does autism occur in conjunction with other disabilities?
Autism can occur by itself or in association with other developmental
disorders such as mental retardation, learning disabilities, epilepsy, etc.
Autism is best considered as a disability on a continuum from mild to severe.
The number of handicaps and degree of mental retardation will determine the
location on that continuum.
What is the difference between Autism and Mental Retardation?
Most people with mental retardation show relatively even skill development,
while individuals with autism typically show uneven skill development with
deficits in certain areas - most frequently in their ability to communicate
and relate to others - and distinct skills in other areas.
It is important to distinguish autism from mental retardation or other
disorders since diagnostic confusion may result in referral to inappropriate
and ineffective treatment techniques.
Can people with autism be helped? How can persons with autism learn be
Yes, autism is treatable. Studies show that all people who have autism can
improve significantly with proper instruction. Many individuals with autism
eventually become more responsive to others as they learn to understand the
world around them. Through specially trained teachers, using specially
structured programs that emphasize individual instruction, persons with
autism can learn to function at home and in the community. Some can lead
nearly normal lives.
What Is Asperger Syndrome?
Asperger Syndrome or (Asperger's Disorder) is a neurobiological disorder
named for a Viennese physician, Hans Asperger, who in 1944 published a paper
which described a pattern of behaviors in several young boys who had normal
intelligence and language development, but who also exhibited autistic-like
behaviors and marked deficiencies in social and communication skills. In
spite of the publication of his paper in the 1940's, it wasn't until 1994
that Asperger Syndrome was added to the DSM IV and only in the past few years
has AS been recognized by professionals and parents. Individuals with AS can
exhibit a variety of characteristics and the disorder can range from mild to
severe. Persons with AS show marked deficiencies in social skills, have
difficulties with transitions or changes and prefer sameness. They often have
obsessive routines and may be preoccupied with a particular subject of
interest. They have a great deal of difficulty reading nonverbal cues (body
language) and very often the individual with AS has difficulty determining
proper body space. Often overly sensitive to sounds, tastes, smells, and
sights, the person with AS may prefer soft clothing, certain foods, and be
bothered by sounds or lights no one else seems to hear or see. It's important
to remember that the person with AS perceives the world very differently.
Therefore, many behaviors that seem odd or unusual are due to those
neurological differences and not the result of intentional rudeness or bad
behavior, and most certainly not the result of "improper parenting". y
definition, those with AS have a normal IQ and many individuals (although not
all), exhibit exceptional skill or talent in a specific area. Because of
their high degree of functionality and their naivet�, those with AS are often
viewed as eccentric or odd and can easily become victims of teasing and
bullying. While language development seems, on the surface, normal,
individuals with AS often have deficits in pragmatics and prosody.
Vocabularies may be extraordinarily rich and some children sound like "little
professors." However, persons with AS can be extremely literal and have
difficulty using language in a social context.
At this time there is a great deal of debate as to exactly where AS fits. It
is presently described as an autism spectrum disorder and Uta Frith, in her
book AUTISM AND ASPERGER'S SYNDROME, described AS individuals as "having a
dash of Autism". Some professionals feel that AS is the same as High
Functioning Autism, while others feel that it is better described as a
Nonverbal Learning Disability. AS shares many of the characteristics of PDD-
NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder; Not otherwise specified), HFA, and NLD
and because it was virtually unknown until a few years ago, many individuals
either received an incorrect diagnosis or remained undiagnosed. For example,
it is not at all uncommon for a child who was initially diagnosed with ADD or
ADHD be re-diagnosed with AS. In addition, some individuals who were
originally diagnosed with HFA or PDD-NOS are now being given the AS diagnosis
and many individuals have a dual diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome and High
Functioning Autism.