Autism: what do we mean by it?
Autism is a puzzling disorder because it is difficult to understand the behaviour of people with autism, and because the world is so confusing for a person with autism. An Australian prevalence study released in 2007 estimates that autism spectrum disorder affects one in 160 primary-school aged children. That figure can be extrapolated to indicate that as many as 125,000 Australians have autism spectrum disorder. Boys are more likely to be affected than girls.
Autism was first identified in 1943, but it appears to have existed throughout recorded history. It occurs in all ethnic and social groups. Our knowledge of autism has improved greatly over the years, although there is no known cure. We still do not know what causes autism, but it is thought to be a brain disorder.
It is definitely not caused by poor parenting as was once believed.
Autism is a developmental disability. A person with autism will have significant difficulties in several areas of his/her development. The areas most affected are communication, social interaction and behaviour.
This developmental disability may have a particular pattern called autism, or there may be varying amounts of disability in other areas of development which result in patterns called Asperger syndrome or pervasive developmental disorder—not otherwise specified (PDD—NOS). This whole area of developmental disabilities is referred to as autism spectrum disorders. People with these disorders are affected differently, but all require specialised assistance and support.
The best way to help a person with an autistic disorder is to understand how the following 3 areas of difficulty affect their view of the world.
Communication
Autism affects the ability of a person to understand the meaning and purpose of body language and the spoken and written word. Words can be misunderstood, interpreted literally or not understood at all. Other people's feelings and emotions can also be difficult to understand.Social interaction
Social interaction is an essential part of life for most people. For people with autism, being sociable is difficult, scary and very confusing. Some appear to withdraw and become isolated, others try very hard to be sociable but never seem to get it right. People with autism can find friendships difficult.Behaviour
Impairments in communication and social interaction produce a range of behaviours that have become linked with autism spectrum disorders. These may include the following areas.- Speech: absent, delayed or showing abnormal patterns.
- Play: isolated, repetitive, unimaginative, destructive, obsessional.
- Tantrums: can be a way of expressing extreme confusion and/or frustration.
- Sensory sensitivities: to certain sounds, colours, tastes, smells, textures.
- Obsessions: intensive interest with favourite topics, objects, places, people or activities.
- Insistence on sameness: routines bring some order to the autistic person's confusion. A change of routine can be very difficult to cope with.
- Body movements: such as hand flapping, toe walking and occasionally behaviour that may cause self injury (such as hand biting).
Last Reviewed: 17 June 2007
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