What is Autism?
The material that follows has been
provided by The National Autistic Society.
Autism is a disability that affects the way a person communicates and
relates to people around them. Though it describes a condition with wide
ranging degrees of severity, all those affected have a triad of impairments
which will include all or some of the following:
Difficulty with developing imagination: - People with autism are usually
unable to play imaginatively with objects or toys or with other children or
adults. They tend to focus on minor or trivial things around them, for
example an earring rather then the person wearing it, or a wheel instead of
the whole toy train.
Difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communication: - People with autism
are unable to appreciate the social uses and the pleasure of communication.
Even if the person with autism has a lot of speech they would probably use
this to talk "at" you rather than with you. The person with autism
may be able to ask for their own needs but find it hard to talk about
feelings or thoughts and will not understand the emotions, ideas and beliefs
of other people. They do not really understand the meaning of gestures,
facial expression or tone of voice, although higher functioning people with
autism do use gestures but these tend to be odd and inappropriate. People
with autism understand and use language very literally, with an
idiosyncratic, sometimes pompous choice of words and phrases and limited
content of speech.
Difficulty with social relationships: - People with autism often appear
aloof and indifferent to other people. The more able people with autism will
passively accept social contact and even show some signs of pleasure in
this, but will rarely make spontaneous approaches. They can occasionally
approach other people but in an odd, inappropriate, repetitive way, paying
little or no attention to the responses of those they approach.
Autism also includes the condition known as Asperger Syndrome which
describes children who show the characteristics of autism, but are of
average or above average intelligence and have good communication skills.
The estimated prevalence rate of autistic spectrum disorders, including
Asperger syndrome, is 91 per 10,000 people in the U.K. Autism also affects
four times as many boys as girls.
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Known Causes?
The exact causes of autism have not yet been fully established. It is
however evident from research that autism can be caused by a variety of
conditions affecting brain development and which occur before, during or
after birth. They include for example maternal rubella, tuberous sclerosis,
lack of oxygen at birth and complications of childhood illnesses such as
whooping cough and measles. In many instances, genetic traits appear to be
important though the sites of the relevant genes have yet to be identified.
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Is there a
cure?
As yet there is no cure for autism, but specialised education and
structured support can help maximise a child's skills and minimise any
behaviour problems. The right kind of education and care programmes are
essential. They make a real difference to the child's life enabling each
individual, whatever their level of disability, to achieve as great a degree
of independence as possible.
Source: - The National Autistic
Society.
