Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that begins sometime during the first three years of a child's life. Autism is a neurologically based disorder. It affects the way children communicate, interact with other people and how they perceive and react to the world that surrounds them.  Patterns of behavior that are characteristic of autism include impairment of reciprocal social interactions and impaired communication skills and restricted range of interests or repetitive behaviors. Not all children with autism behave the same way. This is what is meant by a "spectrum of autism". Each child might display different combinations of behaviors, ranging from mild to severe. Other disorders related to autism are Rett's Disorder, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger's Disorder.