Your Health Diagnosing Autism Autism Autism is a type of developmental disorder characterized by problems in social interaction, communication, and behavior.
Autism is four times more common in boys than in girls.
As they grow, children with autism usually don t follow normal patterns of development. Some may show signs of problems at birth. Other children have normal or near-normal development until about 18 to 36 months. Then, they suddenly lose acquired language and social skills and begin to exhibit abnormal behavior patterns. Autistic children have problems communicating and relating to people in the world around them.