What is Autism?

• Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability that affects 1 in 68 children in the United States, but people all over the world are affected by it.
• 1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls are affected by autism within
  the United States.
• Autism is not a disease. People are born with it so you can’t
  “catch” it and it is a lifelong disability.
• Autism is a spectrum disorder. This means that the symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Although autism is defined by a certain set of behaviors, children and adults can exhibit any combination of the behaviors in any degree of severity, the level of developmental delay is unique to the individual. Two children, both with the same diagnosis, can act very differently from one another and have varying skills.
• In May 2013, the diagnostic criteria incurred several changes which included the new classification system. The new classification system “eliminated the previously separate subcategories on the autism spectrum, including Asperger syndrome, PDD-NOS, childhood disintegrative disorder and autistic disorder. These subcategories are now folded into the broad term autism spectrum disorder (ASD)” (“Answers to frequently asked questions,” n.d.).
• Individuals with a previous diagnosis on the autism spectrum, including those with Asperger syndrome or PDD-NOS, did not lose their ASD diagnosis. Many individuals chose to maintain their label of Asperger’s syndrome as part of their identity, etc. (“Answers to frequently asked questions,” n.d.).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=Q2f22ek0Tvs

Additional Links and Resources:

http://autismspeaks.org

https://www.audible.com/pd/Self-Development/Ten-Things-Every-Child-with-Autism-Wishes-You-Knew-Audiobook/B01GUB03ZO?source_code=GPAGBSH0508140001&cvosrc=ppc%20cse.google%20shopping.197997180&cvo_crid=73342128660&cvo_pid=18461219700

https://www.audible.com/pd/Science-Technology/Uniquely-Human-Audiobook/B0127N5JB2?source_code=GPAGBSH0508140001&cvosrc=ppc%20cse.google%20shopping.1060799272&cvo_crid=251357068721&cvo_pid=60546028308