Parents are also especially sensitive to picking up autism symptoms in a younger sibling. Also being reported at the Minneapolis meeting is related research by Dawson and UW doctoral student James McPartland that shows adults and adolescents with autism have abnormal reactions to faces. The Autism Center is part of the UW's Center on Human Development and Disability. Dawson and an interdisciplinary team are attempting to find the neurobiological and genetic causes of autism and design interventions to help autistic children. Autism and related disorders are among the most common developmental disabilities, occurring in one in 500 people.
Autism is characterized by an impaired ability to communicate or relate socially with others.
People with the disorder typically have a limited range of activities and interests.