You are not alone. In Britain there are over 500,000 people who are either classically autistic or who have autistic tendencies. Each one's behaviour, including your child's, will be unique, but nevertheless there are underlying common problems which bond the whole group together. Although in the past there was widespread ignorance of autism, today there is a growing awareness of the particular needs and difficulties that children with autism face, and a growing number of specialists in the field of autism. Here are some of the questions we are often asked - but please remember that if you would like more information about any aspect of autism or Asperger syndrome we will do our best to help.
Autism is a life-long developmental disability affecting social and communication skills.
People with autism often have accompanying learning disabilities but, whatever their general level of intelligence, they will share a common difficulty in making sense of the world in the way most people do. In most children with autism some types of skills will be better than others so that their development will not only be slower than usual but will also be uneven and different from most children with other learning disabilities. There is also a form of autism which is know as Asperger syndrome . This occurs at the more able end of the autistic spectrum. The degree to which people with an autistic spectrum disorder are affected varies, but all those affected have what is known as a triad of impairments.