There is no medical test for determining whether a child is autistic. Diagnosis is normally based on observations of child s behavior. This behavior varies widely from mild to severe. What we do know is that autism is biological in origin. There is strong evidence with autistic individuals that there are abnormalities in the structural organization of the brain.
Autism can begin shortly after birth, and always before the age of three.
Autism occurs in approximately one out of every 200 children. A disturbing trend is that autism is increasing at an alarming rate. While some autistic individuals are mute, others exhibit a ritualistic speech pattern. Autistic children are often institutionalized, particularly if the individual is subject to violent or self-destructive episodes. However, despite limited learning capacity, many autistic children show extraordinary talent in a specific area such as music, art, or mathematics.