Autism

Yes.

It's not that different from non-autistic people. Autistic people have brains that may not function as fast and so their answer or response may be completely off of subject or you may not know what they are saying. They usually have their own little world in their head. They may talk to themselves, not be as social, talk about the most random things. Autistic people are different. That's what makes them special. Not that non-autistic people aren't special in their own way.

No, throwing things is not part of autism - autism is a neurological difference, there is nothing about autism that would cause throwing things. Of course Autistic people may throw things for any number of reasons, it's just that autism isn't the cause of this.

I do not know how often they are misdiagnosed, but they can be. The majority of recent cases for which I have heard about misdiagnoses by child psychiatrists were because the parent was certain it was one condition and described incidents that supported that condition, to the point of severely distorting them from what really happened. The other major category of misdiagnoses were by educators who were not trained at evaluating those conditions, but recognized a couple signs in some of the children they found difficult, and put a label on for convenience.

In the following answer, I chose to use the male pronouns because autism is apparently more common in males, but the information would apply equally to a female with autism.

A person with autism misses a significant portion of the communication happening between people because he or she cannot "read" nonverbal language, which is often considered a more significant aspect of communication than the words that are spoken. Thus, the person with autism might take away a message that is the opposite of what the speaker intended. He also might display no body language or "incorrect" body language, so other people do not feel comfortable with the person with autism or misinterpret the message from the person with autism. So, there can be many miscommunications, which can cause the person with autism to give up trying to communicate and "fit in".

As one example, the person with autism might approach too close or stay too far away, not fitting in with the norms of personal space, so the other person might assume the person with autism is trying to be too familiar and pushing the relationship too fast, or is too remote and unfriendly.

Since the person with autism might avoid eye contact, the other people could suspect he or she is lying or hiding something. Some people with autism do not avoid eye contact, but stare relentlessly, making the other people uncomfortable.

A person with autism might pull back when a handshake is offered, or shove a person away who unknowingly started to give a hug because of a sensitivity to touch. Some people with autism might remain at a distance from someone whose perfume or cologne, residual smell of cigarettes or alcohol, or body odor is overwhelming because of a sensitivity to smell. Some people with autism might avoid or avoid looking in the direction of a person who is wearing a melange (to the person with autism) of bright colors, even when that person is talking to him or her, because of a visual sensitivity.

So, there are a wide variety of issues that impact communication. There are also the issues related to stress. If a person with autism feels stressed, he might engage in "stimming" (self-stimulating behaviors) that are calming to the person with autism, but often seem odd or even annoying to other people in the vicinity. In addition, when the person is that stressed, he might not be able to process what is happening in his environment, seeming as if he is uncaring or ignoring other people.

There are several other aspects that lead to a person with autism not "fitting in," but this should provide a partial explanation of why he might not "fit in."

There are number of things you shouldn't say to an autistic individual.

Don't judge them as lazy, antisocial, or selfish or stubborn.

Don't say to them "you don't look autistic" or "you seem normal" because they know you think they're lying that they have autism. Most people say people with autism unable to communicate. There are some people with autism who can communicate.

Don't say to them "you seem very high-functioned" Verbal autistic individuals can have their struggles also almost as bad as non verbal autistic individual.

Don't compare an autistic person as a normal person. There are most autistic individuals that don't want to be compared to normal people.

Autism isn't a disability, it is a difference - autism is a spectrum, as such it effects different people in different ways and to different severities, so although some people may face disabilities as a result of autism many don't. As a disability it would be considered a neurological disability.

Approximately one in two hundred girls are autistic, or 0.5%.

Andreas rett

There's nothing to suggest that autism is more prevalent today than it was decades, hundreds, or thousands of years ago. Autism diagnosis is on the increase but this doesn't mean that autism is on the increase.

Yes, as long as it is legal for a person to work at 16 years old where they live they can get a job. Being Autistic doesn't necessarily stop someone from getting a job, most Autistic people work or have worked.

Anywhere between "loads" and "not that many, really"

Yes, of course Autistic people can be in wheelchairs. A person can have more than one condition or disability, and Autistic people are as likely to use a wheelchair as any other group of people.

Approximately 1 in 150 children have autism, that is approx. 73 a day, and approx. 26,767 children a year are born with autism in the US.

Numbers are up from 1 in 10,000 a generation ago, and 3-4 generations ago, autism was practically unknown.

Reasons for the increase may include:

- Increased numbers of pregnant women on medication during pregnancy. For example, the anticonvulsant drug sodium valproate (epilim/depakote) is proven in studies to cause a 10% risk of autism when unborn babies are exposed to it.

- Various other anticonvulsant drugs and hormonal drugs are also suspect, and under investigation for causing increased risk of autism.

- Increased diagnosis. More children at the "softer" end of the spectrum are now obtaining diagnosis.

- Environmental genetic damage. It is generally accepted that certain chemicals in our environment cause genetic damage. This may be associated with the increase in autism rates.

- Older parental ages. Women are having children when older. Genetic damage is more likely to occur in eggs from older women, and in sperm cells from older men.

Unknown but possible candidates for autism rate increase include:

- foetal ultrasound, which has never been tested for human safety yet is now universal

- vaccine overload, where too many vaccines create an immune response overload in young children / babies

- general environmental pollution, including lead and mercury, plus a host of other damaging chemicals and poisons.

Sadly, no. There are many methods, techniques and tricks you can try, but there is no cure, unfortunately.

Sorry, no. Bella Thorne, an actress, has it. There is no cure. There are many claims that they can, but it rarely works.

There is one type of autism. However, there are multiple types of pervasive developmental disorders, of which autism is one.

The pervasive developmental disorders, also known as autism spectrum disorders, include five disorders that affect social and communication skills as well as motor and language skills. The five disorders are: Classic Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Persuasive Developmental Disorder (PDD-NOS), Rett's Syndrome and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder.

Flu shots do not cause autism. Because when one identical twin has autism, the other twin almost always has autism, too, we know that it is in the genes. Some of the genes associated with autism have been identified. But, since there are rare occasions when the other twin does not have autism, it is thought that something extra must trigger the development of autism in those persons who have the genes for it. The factors that could trigger autism genes are not known.

A gluten-free diet can be helpful for some people with Autism. Autistic people are six times more likely to suffer digestive problems, some will be intolerant or sensitvie to gluten, but even in those who aren't a gluten-free diet can be a healthier option and can help with symptoms.

Currently there is no single dominant theory, mostly because there haven't been any clear causes. The latest trend is to speculate on a genetic basis and there are a couple shreds of support for the hypothesis that epigenetics are also playing a part. Environmental contamination with hormone-like chemicals, diet changes, maternal health factors and exposure to industrial chemicals have all been proposed as causes or factors influencing the risk of autism, but the reality is no one really knows or has any good evidence yet.

Incidentally, the hoax about linking childhood vaccines to autism has been thoroughly debunked. The original paper that was published has been redacted in its entirety and follow-up studies looking at the linkage found no evidence to support the assertation. Vaccinating your child will not increase the risk of your child being diagnosed with autism. However, not vaccinating your child does increase the risk of severe childhood disease and potential death from whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella. All of these diseases are still present around the world.