Kharma Center for the Rehabilitation of Children with Autism and Down Syndrome
Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, is a known brain development condition that manifests itself as difficulty in communicating or socializing with others and can affect an individual and their family throughout their life.
It can be characterized through many facets, some of which may include: Lack of desire to interact with other people Display of erratic behavior that can seem hostile towards others Most commonly avoidance of eye contact when spoken to Display repetitive patterns of behavior
The term spectrum reflects the wide variation in the challenges and strengths each child with this disorder possesses. Its most obvious features are almost visible between the ages of two and three. In some cases, it can be diagnosed as early as 18 months.
According to the World Health Organization, one in every 160 children around the world has an autism spectrum disorder. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in the United States of America is: In 2020, 1 in 54 children will have an autism spectrum disorder.
From what we know now, there is no single cause of autism spectrum disorder. Research suggests that autism arises from the combined presence of these genetic, non-genetic, and environmental factors.It should be noted that the influence of these factors on the likelihood of developing autism does not make it a cause in itself. For example, it is possible to have some genetic changes associated with autism in non-affected people. Also, it is not necessary that someones exposure to one of these influencing factors contribute to autism spectrum disorder, but it is likely that the vast majority will not be affected.
The term autism was first used in 1911 by psychiatrists. This phrase derives the word from the phrase separate from the others. The first person to identify autism as quantitative behavioral symptoms was a pediatric psychiatrist named Leo Kanner (Leo Kanner).