What is Autism?

Autism is a brain disorder that often makes it hard to communicate with and relate to others. With autism, the different areas of the brain fail to work together.

Most individuals with autism have problems identifying with others. Early treatment has helped more individuals who have a autism achieve their full potential.

Autism has a tendency to run in families, so specialists think it may be something that you inherit. Researchers are attempting to discover precisely which genes may be responsible for passing it down in families.

Different studies are looking at whether autism can be caused by other medical problems or by something in your child's surroundings.

False claims in the news have made people worried about a connection between autism and vaccines. Be that as it may studies have discovered no connection between vaccines and autism. It's very important that your child gets all adolescence vaccines. They help keep your child from getting serious diseases that can cause harm or even death.

Symptoms almost always start before a child is 3 years old. Usually, parents first notice that their child has not started talking yet and is not acting like other children the same age. But it is not unusual for a child with autism to start to talk at the same time as other children the same age, then lose his or her language skills.

Symptoms of Autism

A person with an ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) might:

• Does not respond to name by 12 months of age
• Does not share interests with others
• Only interacts to achieve a desired goal
• Has flat or inappropriate facial expressions
• Avoids or resists physical contact
• Is not comforted by others during distress
• Has trouble understanding other people's feelings or talking about own feelings
• Not respond to their name by 12 months of age
• Not point at objects to show interest (point at an airplane flying over) by 14 months
• Not play "pretend" games (pretend to play kitchen) by 18 months
• Avoid eye contact and want to be alone
• Does not understand personal space boundaries
• Prefers to play alone
• Have trouble understanding other people's feelings or talking about their own feelings
• Have delayed speech and language skills
• Repeat words or phrases over and over (echolalia)
• Give unrelated answers to questions
• Get upset by minor changes
• Have obsessive interests
• Avoids eye contact
• Flap their hands, rock their body, or spin in circles
• Have unusual reactions to the way things sound, smell, taste, look, or feel

For more information and free materials for parents, health care providers, and childcare providers visit the CDC's website at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/freematerials.html.