by Barbara Kasey Smith

Created on: February 14, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2010

Autism causes children to experience the world differently from the way most other children do. Children with autism have a difficult time talking with other people and expressing themselves using words. An autistic child will usually keep to themselves and many cannot communicate without special help.

Many children who have autism may react to what's going on around them in unusual ways. Normal sounds may bother someone with autism, causing them to cover their ears, and being touched, even in a gentle way, may make them feel uncomfortable. Also these children, often cannot make connections that other children make easily. If someone smiles, a child with autism may have trouble connecting with their smile, realizing the person's happy feelings.

Many children with autism have trouble linking words to their meanings. Imagine trying to understand what your Mother is saying if you do not know what her words mean. It is confusing, and doubly frustrating then if the child cannot come up with the right words to express their own thoughts. Autism causes children to act in unusual ways. The may flap their hands, say certain words over and over, have temper tantrums, or play only with one particular toy. Children with autism don't usually like changes in their normal routines. They like to stay on a particular schedule that remains the same. They may insist their toys or other objects be arranged in a certain way and get upset if these items are moved or disturbed.

Children with autism have trouble with an important job: making sense of the world. Every day our brains interprets the sights, sounds, smells, and other sensations that we experience. If our brain, couldn't help us to understand these things, we would have trouble functioning, talking, going to school, and doing other everyday stuff. Some children with autism can be mildly affected by autism, so that they only have a little trouble in life, or if they are very affected, they will need a lot of help.

Autism affects about 1 in every 150 children, but no one know what causes it. Some scientists believe that some of these children with autism might be more likely to get autism because it or similar disorders run in their families. The human brain is very complex; therefore, the cause of autism is hard to determine. For some reason, some of the cells and connections in the brains of children with autism...especially those that affect communication, emotions, and senses...don't develop or get damaged. Scientists

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>