What is Autism?

Autism is complex developmental disorder involving delays in and problems with social interaction, language, and a range of emotional, cognitive, motor, and sensory abilities. Specific behavior-such as bodily spinning, lining up toys, or repeating words without apparent purpose or meaning-is often observed as well, but as we will show later, these symptoms arise from more fundamental problems in relating, communicating, and thinking. They are not specific to autism. Language, thinking, and social skills for a child with autism or autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs) vary according to where he or she falls on a spectrum.
Basic facts about the disorder such as causes and rates of occurrence are still poorly understood. As we said earlier, some studies estimate the incidence of ASD to be as high as 1 out of 166. Most also suggest a dramatic increase over the rate estimated a decade ago. While some investigators attribute the higher rate to better identification and diagnosis, many believe there has been an increase in autism and ASD.