What is autism?

© Project ACCESS - Updated January 2009

Autism is...

• a developmental disability.  It begins during early development either prenatal or by the age of 3.
• a life-long difference. While most with individuals with autism improve, many aspects of autism remain.
• a neurophysiological difference .  It is a physical difference in the brain.
• treated through good educational programs.  Active engagement in instructional programs at school can be an effective strategy for students with ASD. (National Research Council (2001, p.6).
• behaviorally defined. Autism is identified by the presence of significant characteristic behaviors.
• variable in its severity across individual. Individuals range from severely affected and having co-occurring conditions to having mild symptoms.
• a communication and sensory and interactional disability.
  

Autism is not...

• a mental or emotional illness. Autism is not caused by poor parenting, trauma, abuse or neglect .
• simply a behavior disorder.  While individuals with autism may demonstrate many inappropriate behaviors, there is often a different reason for the behavior than would be typical of a child with just a behavior disorder.  Because the reason or the function of the behavior is different, the approach to changing the behavior may also be different.
• curable. Autism may be associated with biological conditions that may respond to biological treatments.  Good educational treatments may help individuals to learn to control behaviors and to learn how to function in the environment.  However, the basic neurological difference that is autism usually remains. 
• the same set of behaviors in all individuals.  If you have met one individual with autism, you have seen one face of autism.  While some behaviors are common in autism, no individual has all those characteristics and each individual expresses his characteristics uniquely.
• diagnosable by any type of medical procedure.  While research is improving, diagnosis and eligibility are still based on whether the individual has significant behaviors that fit the medical or educational criteria for autism.

 Autism occurs in approximately 1 out of 150 live births. It occurs in approximately 1 in 90 male births. Savants like "Rainman" (played by Dustin Hoffman) make up about 10% of persons with autism. Four males are identified with autism for every one female.  However, there is current interest in considering if females with autism present differently and might need a slightly different diagnostic criteria.

Current statistics estimate that about 40-50% of individuals with autism are also retarded (IQ test scores of less than 70). That means that approximately 50-60% of individuals with autism have normal IQ test scores (70 and above).  However, severe symptoms of autism can mask some levels of intelligence. 

Approximately 50% of persons with autism are functionally nonverbal. This means that even if the person has speech, the speech is not used in a meaningful way.  When this occurs, other means of communication than verbal language should be taught.

References:

National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.

National Institute of Mental Health. (2008). Autism Spectrum Disorders   http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/autism/complete-publication.shtml

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke  (2006).  Autism Fact Sheet  http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm