Autism Awareness...What is this?

Autism Awareness. Do you truly know what this is? Do you know the true definition of autism and what it is exactly? It's true, many people may not even have heard of the word autism. But, autism is a lot more common than one might think. In the last few years, the rate of autism has rose to about 1 in 110 people.

I have a few members of my family with autism and I still don't know the true definition of autism. I think if I and others become informed about this subject, then we can all be more understanding to people out there with this disorder, especially since it is so common in our society. After some research, I found that autism is a term to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Brain Disorders. Autism isn't just a general disorder, there are other types of a form of autism known as Asperger's Syndrome and Rett Syndrome. Professionals are still trying to figure out the cause for autism, so the cause is still unknown. Since there are a variety types of autism, ranging in the severity of the case and different symptoms found, there could be many reasons for these disorders. Some cases can be linked to genetic disorders, but I want it to be known that autism can NOT be caused by bad parenting. Many people believe that a person has autism because of poor parenting, and this is 100% wrong. Autism is a biological disorder, not a case of poor parenting.

There are many different symptoms of autism ranging from social problems to having repetitive behaviors. In my next post I will explain more about the symptoms of autism so we all can be one step closer to understanding autism and so we all can be more accepting to this disorder.