What is Autism

Autism is not life threatening, but is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way that a person communicates and relates to people around them.

People with Autism have impairments in social interaction, social communication and imagination. They are unable to relate to others in a meaningful way, and their ability to develop friendships is impaired, as is their capacity to understand other people's feelings.

People with Autism often have accompanying learning disabilities, and everyone with the condition shares a difficulty in making sense of the world.

Autism covers a wide spectrum, from those living a near normal life in the community to those needing a constant, very high degree of support. There are varying degrees of autism; there is also a disability called Asperger Syndrome, which is on the autistic spectrum and has a number of similar characteristics, but also others, which are unique to Asperger Syndrome. People with Asperger Syndrome are most often of average or above average intelligence.

Statistics show that males are 4 times more likely to be Autistic than females, and it is generally accepted that 91 out of 10,000 people (0.91%) are on the Autistic spectrum with 5 out of 10,000 (0.05%) at the acute end of the scale.

The causes of Autism are as yet unknown, and there is no proven cure at present.