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Autism is a neurological disorder. It affects normal development and usually becomes apparent before the age of three. The latest prevalence rates suggest that Autism occurs in at least sixty out of every 10,000 births and is four times more common in boys than girls. There are about 500,000 children and adults in the UK with autism and allied disorders. It has been found throughout the world in families of all racial, ethnic and social backgrounds. Research has shown that autism is caused by the brain functioning in an abnormal way. It is not caused by environmental factors such as poor parenting or emotional trauma.
Autistic people have major problems in three areas:
1. Communication. Autistic children nearly always start learning to talk late, if at all. Their progress with speech is often slow and the things they say are sometimes quite odd. They may have difficulty understanding what other people say, and may not seem to notice when people talk to them.
2. Socialisation. Autistic people lack awareness of other people. They may not respond to other people, or may respond oddly.
3. Imagination. Autistic children rarely have much pretend play. Instead they tend to concentrate on the physical properties of things, so will like to look at things from odd angles, or line them up, or tap or spin things. They are not usually able to play interactively with other children.
Other common features:-
General learning disabilities. About a third of autistic people have severe learning disabilities, and another third have moderate learning disabilities.
Obsessive interests, for example in trains, or vacuum cleaners, or collecting bottle tops.
An insistence on doing certain things exactly the same way every time; for example always taking the same route to school. Many autistic children get very upset if their usual routine is disrupted.
A patchy profile of abilities; for example some autistic children are very good at computing, or at jigsaw puzzles, or at reading, despite having great difficulties with more simple tasks.
Odd physical mannerisms, typically hand flapping and jumping up and down when excited, and walking on tiptoe. The more severely affected children often rock, or bang their heads, or bite the back of their hands.
People with Asperger Syndrome, like autistic people, have problems with communication, socialization and imagination. However, they differ from autistic people in that their problems are less severe. They usually have a good command of speech and do not have general learning disabilities.
Communication. Children with Asperger Syndrome are not usually delayed in learning to talk, but often have difficulty in understanding the real meaning of what is said to them. They tend to take everything literally, so they find phrases such as 'hang on a minute' or 'she cried her eyes out' or 'give it your best shot' very confusing. Subtleties of language such as sarcasm or humour or irony also tend to be lost on them.
Socialisation. People with Asperger's don't understand other people or social conventions very well. Because of this they tend not to fit in and find it quite difficult to make friends. They often seem quite eccentric.
Imagination. Children with Asperger's Syndrome are not good at things which involve imagining how other people think and feel, so they have problems understanding stories, and cannot join in pretend play with other children. They often have a hobby that they pursue obsessively, typically one that involves collecting things or memorising facts.
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