Autism :: Psychology, Mental Health

AutismAutism is one of the mental, emotional, and behavior disorders thatappears in early childhood. Autism, or autistic disorder, almost alwaysdevelops within the first 3 years of a childs life. Children and adolescentswith autism hatfulnot interact normally with other people. Autism thus affectsmany aspects of their development.Children with and adolescents with autism typically -have a voicelesstime communicating with others -exhibit very repetitious behaviors (likerocking back and forth, head banging, or touching or twirling objects) -have alimited range of interests and activities and -may became upset at a smallchange in their environment or daily routine.Although symptoms of autistic disorder sometimes can be seen in earlyinfancy, the condition can appear after months of normal development. In mostcases, it is not possible to identify any specific event that triggers autisticdisorder. About 7 in every 10 children and adolescents with autistic disorderalso have mental retard ation or other problems with their brain function orstructure.Recent studies bet that as many as 14 children out of 10,000 mayhave autism or a related condition. About 125,000 Americans are affected bythese disorders, and or so 4,000 families across the country have two or morechildren with autism. Three times as many boys as girls have autism.Researchers are still faint-hearted about what causes autism. Several studiessuggest that autistic disorder might be caused by a combination of biologicalfactors, including exposure to a virus forwards birth, a problem with the immunesystem, or genetics.Scientists also have identified chemicals in the brain and the immune