April 5, 2012
April is National Autism Awareness Month
What is autism?
- A neurological disorder that disrupts a child’s learning and socialization
- The third most common developmental disability
- A spectrum disorder, meaning it has a very wide range of symptoms and/or characteristics
-Children with this disorder range from very high functioning to extremely impaired
- It is 4x more prevalent in boys than girls
- Usually diagnosed during the first 3 years of a child’s life
- There is no medical test for autism
-Autism is determined only through observation and testing of a child done by a team of professionals, coupled with guardian interviews
- In order for a diagnosis to be made, child must exhibit all 3 of the following symptoms:
-Qualitative impairments in social interaction
-Qualitative impairments in communication
-Restricted, repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interests and activities
- It is estimated that 1,500,000 people in the US today have autism
- Unfortunately, to date, no single cause or cure for autism has been identified
Join the Autism Society in getting involved with the autism community this April.
