Autism is a pervasive developmental mental disorder involving problems with social relationships and emotional communication, as well as stereotyped patterns of interests, activities and behaviors. It typically appears during the first three years of life. It is estimated that it occurs in 1 in 500 individuals and it is 4 times more prevalent in boys than girls.
Autism is treatable. Early diagnosis and intervention are vital to the future development of the child.
A related disorder, Asperger's Disorder, appears to be a milder form of autism. Autism is sometimes called Kanner's Autism, Disorder or Syndrome to distinguish it from Asperger's Disorder. Another term is Low-Functioning Autism for Kanner's and High-Functioning Autism for Asperger's.
Another view of these disorders is that they are on a continuum, so can be known as autistic spectrum disorder. Another related continuum is Sensory Integration Disfunction which is about how well we integrate the information we receive from our 5 senses. Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Sensory Integration Dysfunction are all closely related and overlap.
Some high-achieving individuals are thought to have suffered from autism to some degree. However, autism is more frequently found in individuals with learning disabilities.
Some things to mention here:
- the idiot savant phenomenon often seen in people with autism
- autism, asperger increasingly seen as a continuum of social capability
- recent research in the UK suggesting a link between autism and the MMR vaccine
- the analysis of autism as "mind blindness" -- the inability to create models of other people's thoughts. the typical example of this is "where does X look for the object they stored, but which was moved by Y"
Both Oliver Sacks and Torey Hayden have written about their autistic patients or pupils, respectively. Temple Grandin has also written about her own life.
External links
- Centre for the study of autism: www.autism.org/contents.html
- A personal Autism home page
- DSM-IV Autistic Disorder definition
- DSM-IV Asperger's Disorder definition
- Institute for the Study of the Neurologically Typical