Autism Research Paper

1 Autism is a social, mental, and physical condition that affects children and adults every year. Many families have dealt and are dealing with the struggles that accompany this disease. Autism can affect a person in various ways, and there are many different forms that can range from mild to severe. Autism stays with a person throughout their whole life. It is believed that two to six of every thousand people on the Earth suffer from autism. American psychiatrist Leo Kanner came up with the name Autism in the 1940’s from the Greek word for self. (Chez, 20) There is no known cause or treatment for this disease as of today, but researchers are learning more every day. One parent described her child, saying, “There was no joy, no sadness, no curiosity, no connection, nothing.” (Seroussi, 28) There are many symptoms of Autism. These symptoms can be displayed as early as birth, or as late as adulthood, but most cases appear in young children. These symptoms can also range in severity. Some cases are undiagnosed because of the subtleness of the symptoms, while others make it impossible for a person to function on their own. Some of these symptoms can be mental, but most of the recognized signs of Autism are physical. There are also many different kinds of Autism. There is Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), Asperger's syndrome, Rett syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder (CDD). Each of these come with their own set of symptoms, and affect a person differently. Most people just clump all of these conditions together as Autism, but the “scientific” term for these syndromes is “Autism Spectrum Disorders” or “Pervasive Developmental Disorders.” 2 The symptoms of Autism can be mental or physical. The mental aspect of Autism can hinder a child from being able to communicate and interact with others. There are many combinations of the symptoms that can change a way a child interacts in