Common Characteristics of Autism.

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Common Characteristics of Autismhttp://www.autism-society.org/site/PageServer?pagename=autismcharacteristicsCommon Characteristics of AutismWhile understanding of autism has grown tremendously since it was firstdescribed by Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943, most of the public, including manyprofessionals in the medical, educational, and vocational fields, are stillunaware of how autism affects people and how they can effectively work withindividuals with autism. Contrary to popular understanding, many childrenand adults with autism may make eye contact, show affection, smile andlaugh, and demonstrate a variety of other emotions, although in varyingdegrees. Like other children, they respond to their environment in bothpositive and

negative ways.Autism is a spectrum disorder. The symptoms and characteristics of autismcan present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild tosevere. Although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, childrenand adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree ofseverity. Two children, both with the same diagnosis, can act verydifferently from one another and have varying skills.Parents may hear different terms used to describe children within thisspectrum, such as autistic-like, autistic tendencies, autism spectrum,high-functioning or low-functioning autism, more-abled or less-abled. Moreimportant than the term used is to understand that, whatever the diagnosis,children with autism can learn and function productively and show gainswith appropriate education and treatment.Every person with autism is an individual, and like all individuals, has aunique personality and

combination of characteristics. Some individualsmildly affected may exhibit only slight delays in language and greaterchallenges with social interactions. The person may have difficultyinitiating and/or maintaining a conversation. Communication is oftendescribed as talking at others (for example, monologue on a favoritesubject that continues despite attempts by others to interject comments).People with autism process and respond to information in unique ways. Insome cases, aggressive and/or self-injurious behavior may be present.Persons with autism may also exhibit some of the following traits.Insistence on sameness; resistance to changeDifficulty in expressing needs; uses gestures or pointing instead of wordsRepeating words or phrases in place of normal, responsive languageLaughing, crying, showing distress for reasons not apparent to othersPrefers to be alone; aloof mannerTantrumsDifficulty in mixing

with othersMay not want to cuddle or be cuddledLittle or no eye contactUnresponsive to normal teaching methodsSustained odd playSpins objectsInappropriate attachments to objectsApparent over-sensitivity or under-sensitivity to painNo real fears of dangerNoticeable physical over-activity or extreme under-activityUneven gross/fine motor skillsNot responsive to verbal cues; acts as if deaf although hearing tests innormal range.For most of us, the integration of our senses helps us to understand whatwe are experiencing. For example, our senses of touch, smell and taste worktogether in the experience of eating a ripe peach: the feel of the peachfuzz as we pick it up, its sweet smell as we bring it to our mouth, and thejuices running down our face as we take a bite. For children with autism,sensory integration problems are common. Their senses may be over-orunder-active. The fuzz on the peach may

actually be experienced as painful;the smell may make the child gag. Some children with autism areparticularly sensitive to sound, finding even the most ordinary dailynoises painful. Many professionals feel that some of the typical autismbehaviors are actually a result of sensory integration difficulties.There are many myths and misconceptions about autism. Contrary to popularbelief, many autistic children do make eye contact; it just may be less ordifferent from a non-autistic child. Many children with autism can developgood functional language and others can develop some type of communicationskills, such as sign language or use of pictures. Children do not "outgrow"autism but symptoms may lessen as the child develops and receives treatment.One of the most devastating myths about autistic children is that theycannot show affection. While sensory stimulation is processed differentlyin some children with autism,

they can and do give affection. But it mayrequire patience on a parent's part to accept and give love in the child'sterms.******* After all, they (the pro-vaccine lobbyists) say to themselves, you can't make an omelette withoutbreaking eggs. But the eggs being broken are small, helpless, and innocent babies, while the omelette is being enjoyed by the pediatricians and vaccine manufacturers. - Harris L. Coulter, PhD

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