Autism

What is Autism?

The Cruel Surprise

Many autistic children seem, as babies, to be perfectly normal. They often smile, coo happily, and appear to be developing as expected. Thus, it is particularly cruel for parents to find that their child, perhaps two years old, suffers from a serious, life-long disorder. Typically, the child will be extremely late in talking (if it talks at all), seem not to look at people, develop strange habits and mannerisms, and even appear to be deaf.

These symptoms were thought in the past to indicate a lack of parental care. Actually, they are evidence of a major brain disorder. The developing brain has suffered a particular form of damage, and autistic tendencies have resulted.

Autistic Aloneness

Autistic people appear to be alone in their own world. Their strange, limited social interaction is almost unique amongst mental disorders. Autistic aloneness stems from a fundamental inability to grasp the patterns of social interaction. It is very different from regular shyness or social phobia. Furthermore, in most sufferers, there appears to be little drive to understand the world as a coherent whole. Thus, many sufferers are constantly frightened and bewildered by what is to them an unpredictable world.

A Fictional Case Study

In order to understand autism better, it is useful to look at a fictionalized, but representative life story of an autistic boy.

John, an only child, was a beautiful baby. He seemed happy, and was obviously healthy. At one year old, however, his parents became concerned because he had yet to say a single word, and did not yet respond even to his own name. A test confirmed that his hearing was fine, and they began to worry in earnest.

At eighteen months, John seemed uninterested in play with other children, content instead to stack his toys into geometric patterns. In fact, other children now appeared to be far ahead of him in their speech, play, and emotional development.

At the age of three, a specialist pronounced a diagnosis of autism. John�s parents, heartbroken, nevertheless lavished attention and care on him. John learned very slowly, but with his parents� guidance, gradually developed his facility for communication, and seemed to gain a little common sense. However, he remained emotionally immature, still seemed to �look through� everyone and everything, and lacked understanding of the most basic rules of politeness. What his father found most disturbing was the way that he would often simply echo a phrase that was spoken to him.

As John got older, he became easier to have around. He began to show great enjoyment in cleaning up around the house, even becoming visibly distressed if items were away from their regular places. He also proved to have a flair for jigsaw puzzles. However, he still lacked social flair, and would become easily enraged by his peers at school.

As he entered his teenage years, John had mastered many academic skills, including some reading, writing and math. A psychologist, upon testing him, pronounced that he was within the normal range of intelligence, with the exception of his poor language skills. John�s understanding of language and social conventions was still painstakingly literal, and he became depressed because he felt that he still made many people angry, sad or uncomfortable during social encounters. He couldn�t understand what he was doing wrong.

John, now an adult, lives at home with his parents. Sadly, he is often still frustrated at a world that seems unpredictable and frightening.

(This fictional account was based on a similar study from Autism: Explaining the Enigma by Uta Frith.)