Overview of Autism

For many people, a discussion of autism brings to mind the movie Rain Man, and the character so brilliantly played by Dustin Hoffman. The movie captured much of the frustration faced by families who are dealing with an autistic child or adult, as well as shed light on the day to day realities that face a high-functioning person with autism. It also inadvertently perpetuated a number of myths associated with autism.

Autism is a brain disorder that affects an estimated 210,000 people in the United States - or approximately 1.5 per 1000 people. Many advocacy groups have raised the alarm that the rate of prevalence for autism has risen nearly exponentially since 1993, the first year that data for autism was submitted separately to the Department of Education. According to those figures, the prevalence of autism in the U.S. population has risen nearly 800% in ten years - a truly frightening statistic - if it's accurate. There's a great deal of controversy among most experts as to whether those figures are accurate or not. Many suggest that there's a fundamental flaw in the data collection. Others point out that the diagnostic criteria for autism has loosened and that autism itself is more well-known than before, both of which could give rise to identifying case of autism that might not have been identified under the old criteria.

Autism is an umbrella term that includes a broad range of developmental delays and disorders. It typically appears in the first three years after birth, and is a lifelong condition. Decades ago, the symptoms of autism were often attributed to 'cold parenting' or 'unloving parents'. Doctors no longer believe that there is any psychological cause for autism. Despite numerous studies, there is no known cause for autism, though it has been suggested that there may be environmental contributors.

The DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition) lays out a complex criteria for diagnosing autism in children and adults, but in general the symptoms of autism include:

Delays (or the loss of) physical, social and language skills
Abnormal reactions to sensation
Speech and language delays or abnormalities while associated thinking skills may be present
Abnormal ways of relating to people, objects and events.

Parents facing a diagnosis of autism may be overwhelmed by the amount of information that exists - and even more so by the task of sifting through it to find information that is applicable to their own child. They may find themselves still occasionally facing bias from people who believe that autism results from bad parenting despite the fact that it's been known for years that autism is a physical disorder of the brain. They may be bewildered by the dizzying array of treatments that are offered for autistic children, or dismayed by the lack of understanding displayed by school departments and medical facilities.

The one thing to keep in mind is that while autism is not curable, autism is treatable, and that treatment is most successful when it is begun early. The earlier the diagnosis is made and treatment is begun, the more effective it is in giving children with autism the possibility of independent living.