Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that affects social functioning, communication skills, reasoning and behavior. There is no standard type of autism, as there are many different symptoms of autism that can differ greatly in severity and combination.

History

Autism was described and officially defined as a disorder in 1943 by Leo Kanner. He noticed strange behavior patterns in a group of children, and he categorized the behavior patterns into groups, which would later be used to identify the different types of autism.

Causes

Scientists do not know what exactly causes autism, although they have evidence that genetics play a role in the probability of a person having the disorder. There is also evidence that autism may be caused by certain infections and problems occurring at birth.

Symptoms

There are many possible symptoms to autism, such as difficulty with verbal communication, trouble reading facial expressions, problems understanding other people's feelings, difficulty adjusting to changes in their environment and repetitive body movements like headbanging. Some autistic people have Savantism, which is a form of autism where a person is exceptionally talented in a certain area such as math, music or art.

Types of Autism

Depending on which symptoms of autism a person has and the severity of them, a different type of autism is diagnosed. The most common types of autism are Autistic Disorder, Asperger's Syndrome, Atypical Autism, Rett's Disorder, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.

Misconceptions

Some people believe that the definition of autism is a type of disorder with a set of symptoms that manifest in all autistic people, but autism encompasses many different symptoms. A person need only have a few of them to be considered autistic. Some people also believe incorrectly that autism is a disease.

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