WHAT DO WE MEAN BY AUTISM?

Autism is a puzzling disorder. It is difficult to understand the behaviour of people with autism, and the world is confusing for the person with autism. Autism affects one in 160 Australians, with boys more likely to be affected that girls.

Autism was first identified in 1943, but it appears to have existed throughout recorded history. It occurs in all ethnic and social groups. Our knowledge of autism has improved greatly, but there is no known cure. We still do not know what causes autism, but it is thought to be a brain disorder. It is definitely not caused by poor parenting as was once believed.

Autism is a developmental disability. A person with autism will have difficulties in several areas of their development. The areas most affected are communication, social interaction and behaviour. This developmental disability may have a particular pattern called autism, or there may be varying amounts of disability in other areas of development which result in patterns called Asperger Syndrome or Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). This whole area of developmental disabilities is referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders. People with these disorders are affected differently, but all require specialised assistance and support.

AUTISM VICTORIA believes that the best way to help a person with an autistic disorder is to understand how the following three areas of difficulty affect their view of the world.

COMMUNICATION
Autism affects the ability of a person to understand the meaning and purpose of body language and the spoken and written word. Words can be misunderstood, interpreted literally or not understood at all. Other people's feelings and emotions can also be difficult to understand.

SOCIAL INTERACTION
Social interaction is an essential part of life for most people. People with autism find being sociable difficult, scary and very confusing. Some appear to withdraw and become isolated, others try very hard to be sociable but never seem to get it right. People with autism can find friendships difficult.

BEHAVIOUR
Impairments in Communication and Social Interaction produce a range of behaviours that have become linked with autism spectrum disorders. These may include:

speech - absent, delayed or showing unusual patterns

play - isolated, repetitive, unimaginative, destructive, obsessional

tantrums - can be a way of expressing extreme confusion and/or
frustration

sensory sensitivities - to certain sounds, colours, tastes, smells
and textures

obsessions - intensive interest with favourite topics, objects,
places, people or activities

insistence on sameness - routines bring some order to the autistic
person's confusion - a change to routine can be very difficult to cope with

body movements - such as hand flapping, toe walking and occasionally
behaviour that may cause self injury (such as hand biting)

Address	24 Drummond St Carlton VIC 3053
Tel	03 9657 1600
Website	www.autismvictoria.org.au