Autism Information Center
What is Autism?
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) refers to a group of neurodevelopmental disorders that includes:
- Autistic Disorder
- Asperger's Disorder
- Rett's Disorder
- Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
- Pervasive Developmental Disorder - Not Otherwise Specified
Individuals with an ASD may have difficulty in several areas including:
- Social interaction and play/leisure skills
- Communication and language
- Restricted patterns of behavior and interests
They may also have:
- Sensory regulation difficulty
- Eating and sleeping difficulties
- Cognitive impairments
- Secondary psychiatric disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders are estimated at 1 in 110 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2009) in the United States.
While there is no cure for an ASD, there is on-going research into the causes and effective treatments. Increasingly, there are services and support being made available to families and community providers.
