| Since Dr. Leo Kanner in 1943 first described it, the understanding of autism has advanced tremendously. However, most of the public, including professionals in the educational and medical fields, still don’t understand how autism affects people and how to effectively work with individuals with autism. |
Dr. Leo Kanner |
| Autism is a spectrum disorder. It can present itself within both a wide combination of characteristics and a broad scale in severity of symptoms. Therefore, two children, with the same diagnosis, can behave very differently from each other and have differing skills. A person diagnosed as autistic can display any combination of behaviors or symptoms in any degree of severity. |
| A child with autism often has problems with sensory integration. Their senses may be over or under-active. The gentle touch of a flower’s petals may be felt as extremely painful; the scent of the flower might make a child gag. A child with autism may find everyday noises painful. |
People with autism process and respond to information in distinctive ways such as:
- Resistance to change
- Difficulty in expressing needs
- Pointing or gesturing instead of words
- Repetitive words or phrases
- Inappropriate laughing or crying
- Aloof manner
- Tantrums
- Little or no eye contact
- No real fear of danger
- Uneven gross/fine motor skills
- Non-responsive to verbal cues
- Acts as though deaf although hearing tests within normal range
- Noticeable physical over/under activity
It’s important for parents to understand that, no matter the diagnosis, their autistic child can learn and show gains with the proper therapy. |
