Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, is an inherited neurological and developmental disorder, caused by both environmental, biological and genetic causes. There are many different types of ASD, with a wide variety of symptoms, each patient having their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates autism’s prevalence as 1 in 68 children in the U.S., 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls. Boys are more likely to develop Autism than girls are. One third of people with ASD have intellectual disability and 1/3 of people are nonverbal. ASD does not affect one certain race/ethnicity and currently, there Is no way to prevent it. Though, early diagnosis/intervention can make a big impact, children can improve behaviour and language skills. There are no physical traits affected by ASD and children’s thinking, learning, and problem solving abilities can be either gifted or severely challenged. Some patients need more help in daily lives, and others require less. …show more content…
As I said before, children could have higher thinking abilities, as well as less help needed in daily lives. Some kids have difficulty learning or lower than normal intelligence. Children may develop normally for first few months or years of life then withdraw, losing language skills that have already developed. Symptoms are usually seen by two or three years old. Signs include: failing to respond to own name, appearing not to hear you, resisting cuddling/holding, preferring to play alone, poor eye contact, lacking facial expression, speaking with abnormal tone, repeating words and/or phrases but not understand them, difficulty understanding simple questions/directions, seemingly unaware of others’ feelings, not seeming to express emotion, acting passively, aggressively or disruptively in conversation, has difficulty interpreting others’ expressions or