What is Autism?

It is said that as many as one in every 250 people display autistic tendencies. Autism affects the way that a person communicates and relates to other people. It crosses all intellectual abilities, nationalities and cultures, but is more common in boys than girls.

Early diagnosis is difficult because people with autism can display a wide range of characteristics in varying degrees. People with autism look just like anybody else without the disability. The invisible nature of the disability makes it far harder to recognise and to create an understanding of the condition. People with autism often have difficulty with language and communication and with forming social relationships. They find it difficult to play or use their imagination and their motor and co-ordination skills may be affected.

Other features include challenging or repetitive behaviour and resisting any change to their routine. Autism can't be cured, but people diagnosed with it can achieve a better quality of life with the right support, treatment and education. Early diagnosis can show parents the way to work with their child to overcome some of these affects and to help decide the most appropriate form of schooling for them.

The Autistic Spectrum

As autism is defined as a collection of observable features affecting people within a wide range of intellectual abilities a diagnosis will often say a person is within the autistic spectrum of disorders.

Other terms used to describe people within the Autistic Spectrum are:

Semantic pragmatic disorder Pervasive developmental disorder Autistic traits, tendencies or features The autistic continuum Specific language impairments Severe communication/behaviour difficulties Global or complex learning/language disorder Oppositional defiance disorder

What Causes Autism?

Current research has identified various possible causes of autism - brain dysfunction, genetic factors and allergic reactions. There does not seem to be one clear cause that affects all the people diagnosed with autism - the research continues. Poor parenting does NOT cause autism. The diagnosis of autism is made by observation from a qualified consultant (contact us if you need further information on this or refer to our Diagnosis factsheet).

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