Since it affects so many people and is still such a mystery, there is a great deal of research being done on the subject. The purpose of this paper is to first describe what autism is and then to describe the findings of various studies that have been done recently. People with autism have a disorder that effects the brain and often involves mental retardation. They do not seem to have an emotional attachment to anyone. Autism is also characterized by repetitive actions such as hand flapping.
People effected by autism usually have very little if any language abilities.
Another characteristic of autism that effects some is called autistic savant abilities. These abilities include things like memorizing huge amounts of information, a great musical or art ability, or counting thousands of something accurately in seconds. The official cause of autism is still unknown but a variety of things seem to be related. Prenatal causes include diseases to the mother such as rebulla, tuberous sclerosis, and Cornelia de Lange's syndrome. Chromosomal abnormalities like Fragile X, Angelman's syndrome, and Down's Syndrome can also be prenatal causes of autism.