Subtle changes in routine turning right down the sidewalk instead of left led to tantrums in which he would flip himself backwards, headfirst. Once he walked back and forth, back and forth, before a stone wall, eyes aslant, until we dragged him away screaming. Many more appointments followed with an audiologist and with speech pathologists and psychologists. We had our own questions, but the information folder the clinic professionals briefly reviewed with us seemed to have no answers. We were to learn that even the most firmly established facts about autism are not widely known.
Autism is found in all cultures and in families from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
Most autistic people are deemed mentally retarded, though delays in the development of verbal skills render standardized test results problematic. Some autistic children never develop functional speech, while others possess highly sophisticated vocabularies but lack the means to communicate meaningfully with others. Many people with autism also endure auditory and sensory disorders that greatly interfere with their processes of perception. Stereotypic behaviors toe-walking, rocking, looking out of the corners of the eyes are signs of overtaxed senses. An autistic child who stares endlessly at a spot of paint is very likely seeking a still point amid the sensory jumble ceaselessly bombarding him.