You may have seen an autistic child or adult and never knew that the person had a diagnosis. Your ignorance about the disorder is not uncommon because most people who are not experienced with the disorder look at autistic people as those who are mentally retarded or have some learning disability. This is not true. Autism is a very complicated disorder. The disorder is neurological in nature and primarily affects the areas of the brain where communication and social interaction is developed.

The unique thing about autism and the reason it is sometimes hard to detect is that the disorder affects different sufferers in different levels of complexity. A mildly affected child may be able to communicate their wants and needs, but their communication is often stifled and they do not understand the subtleties of language. Sometimes humor, irony, and other nuances of the language will present a difficult or impassible barrier to the child’s communication process. Another autistic sufferer may have severe autism where the child or the adult cannot communicate at all. The sad thing is that most autistic people know exactly what they want to say but cannot communicate in the accepted “normal” fashion so they can remain silent to the outside world.

Can you imagine the frustration suffered when trying to communicate with your teacher or parent and the words won’t come out? The autistic individual may know the answer to the question or how to do a specific task, but are unable to make their bodies communicate this to the outside world. That is why it is difficult for both teachers and parents to understand what autism is and how to deal with it. The child cannot even communicate their wants and needs during play with other children. A simple act of digging with a sand shovel can be an awkward movement or grunt that would be totally misunderstood by the other child.

Autistic children act differently to normal situations than other kids. Loud noises, a deviation from a familiar route, or a change in time schedule can set an autistic child off with sometimes violent consequences. The acts of an autistic child could be misinterpreted as a behavior disorder or an emotional disorder. Simple communication is not there.

According to statistics, almost four million children will be born with autism in the next decade. The diagnoses of autistic children are becoming more refined, but think about the number of children misdiagnosed in the past where there learning and life skill accommodations were not met by professionals. Autism is a tragic disorder and many parents should be given kudos for the extra time and energy it takes to raise an autistic child.

Symptoms of Autism
Autism Treatments