AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) is a developmental disability that severely hinders the way information is gathered and processed by the brain, causing problems in communication, learning and social behaviors. It typically appears during the child's first three years, occurs in roughly 1 in every 165 and is four times more common in males than females. People with ASD live normal life spans and come of the behaviors associated with it may change or lessened over time. Autism has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and social background.

WHAT CAUSES AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Although no single specific cause of autism is known, current research link autism to biological or neurological differences in the brain. The severely incapacitating symptoms are caused by physical disorders of the brain. In some families there appears to be a pattern of autism or related disabilities which suggests there may be a genetic basis to the disorder, although at this time no gene has gene directly linked to autism. No known factors in the psychological environment of a child have been shown to cause autism.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

The following areas are among those which may be affected by autism:

Communication. Language develops slowly or not at all; use of words without attaching the usual meaning to them; gestures used instead of words; short attention span.

Social Interaction. The person with ASD may spend time alone rather than with others; show little interest in making friends; less responsive 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 imitate others' action; does not initiate pretend games.

Behaviors. May be overactive or very passive; throws frequent tantrums such as crying, shouting for some unknown reasons, may persevere on one single item, idea or person; apparent lack of common sense; may show aggressive behavior or injures self.

SIGNS OF AUTISM
(Usually apparent in toddlers, watch for cluster of symptoms)

• No pointing by 1 year

• No babbling by 1 year, no single word by 16 months; no two-world phrases by 24 months

• Any loss of language skills at any time

• No pretend playing

• Little interest in making friends

• Extremely short attention span

• No response when called by name, indifference to others

• Little or no eye contact

• Repetitive body movements, such as hand flapping, rocking

• Intense tantrums

• Fixations on a single object, such as a spinning fan

• Unusually strong resistance to changes in routines

• Oversensitivity to certain sounds, textures or smells.

SIGNS OF ASPERGER
(Usually diagnosed at age 6 or older)

• Difficulty making friends

• Difficulty reading or communicating through non-verbal social cues, such as facial expressions

• No understanding that others may have thoughts or feelings different from his or her own

• Obsessive focus on a narrow interest, such as reciting train schedules

• Awkward motor skills

• Inflexibility about routines, especially when changes occur spontaneously

• Mechanical, almost robotic patterns of speech