Overview of Autism Essay -- essays research papers

Autism is defined as a developmental disability of the brain. However it is not a form of mental retardation. A person with autism can actually be very intelligent. Autism develops before a child is 30 months of age. It occurs is approximately 4 out of every 10,000 children. Children with autism are unable to develop normal relationships with others. Their hearing and sight senses are heightened. A noise that would not bother a normal person might drive an autistic child crazy. They have a difficult time understanding what is going on around them. If something suddenly happens, like someone laughs or cries they go into confusion because they are wondering why this is happening and they might go into panic. Sometimes they may lose their ability to speak, or need extra time to respond to a question. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether a young child or infant is autistic. Some of the symptoms vary greatly but follow the same general pattern. Autistic infants will act relatively normal during their first few months. But after a couple of months they become less responsive to thei...