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What is Autism?

Autism, Asperger's Syndrome or Autistic Spectrum Disorder are all names for what is essentially a developmental disorder.
A person with Autism will display :

Poor social skills
Poor imagination
Affected communication

These are sometimes referred to as a triad of impairment.
Autism affects each person differently. For example, some may appear to be in a world of their own whilst others may be forward but act inappropriately. Some may display challenging behaviour often related to environmental factors.
This makes understanding Autism very difficult as each child is so different. An autistic child may also have other problems such as leaning difficulties, dyspraxia, languages problems and sensory needs. These children will have Autism all their life, there is no cure, but with support they can learn coping strategies and life skills.

Autism : The Myths Vs. The Facts

Myths	Facts
Autism (including Asperger syndrome) is a rare condition.	Autism (including Asperger syndrome) is no longer a rare condition and is thought to affect about 588,000 people in the UK today. Latest research by Simon Baron-Cohen suggests 1:58!
All people with autism have a extraordinary ability like the Dustin Hoffman character in the film Rainman.	People with autism who have an extraordinary talent are referred to as 'autistic savants'. Savants are rare: Between 2 and 3% of the UK population have some degree of learning disability, but only 0.06% of these were initially estimated to possess an unusually high level of specific ability. Savant ability is more frequently associated with those having some form of autism rather than with other disabilities. Current thinking holds that at most 1 or 2 in 200 individuals with an autism spectrum disorder might have a genuine savant talent. However, there is no reliable frequency estimate as yet as there is still no register of people with autism in the UK.
Asperger syndrome is a middle class malady made up by parents to excuse their badly behaved children.	Asperger syndrome is a very real and very disabling condition that has its own set of diagnostic criteria. It is often diagnosed slightly later than autism at around 11-13 years but its effects are just as real and can be devastating if people's needs are not met.
Only children have autism and they can get better or grow out of it.	Autism is a lifelong developmental disability with no cure. Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism.
Autism is the result of emotional deprivation or emotional stress.	Autism is a complex developmental disability involving a biological or organic defect in the functioning of the brain.
Autism is a new phenomenon.	The first detailed description of a child we now know had autism was written in 1799 by Jean Itard in his account of the wild boy of Aveyron.
A person with autism cannot be educated.	With the right structured support within and outside of school, individuals with autism can be helped to reach their full potential.
People with autism wish to avoid social contact.	People with autism are often keen to make friends but, due to their disability, find this difficult.

Autism Explained

With there being so much information on the Internet today, there seems little need to reproduce all this information on our pages when it can all be found at the click of a mouse.

Using the internet's answer to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia, we thought we'd let this fantastic site do all the "talking" instead.

Each link will open in another window.