| In cases of autistic children usually | | | | From the point of view of the social |
| something is wrong by the time the child is | | | | interaction the people affected by autism may |
| 18 months old and requires help by the time | | | | present the following symptoms: show a lack |
| the child is 2. Children with autism have | | | | an empathy, difficulty in making friends, |
| difficulties in verbal and non-verbal | | | | prefer to spend time alone rather than with |
| communication, social interactions and | | | | others, lack of social cues such as eye |
| pretend play. In some cases aggression-toward | | | | contact or smiles. In what concerns |
| others or self-may appear. | | | | sensitivity discussion about sensory |
| | | | impairment can contain the following: |
| Some children with autism seem normal before | | | | heightened or decreased senses of sight, |
| age 1 or 2 and then regress and lose language | | | | hearing, touch, smell or taste, mouth |
| or social skills. This is named the | | | | objects, rubs surfaces, diminished, response |
| regressive type of autism. Body movements, | | | | to pain, physical contact because it is over |
| unusual attachments to objects or unusual | | | | stimulating or over whelming. |
| distress when routines are changed may be | | | | |
| performed by people with autism. | | | | The majority of children with autism show a |
| | | | decreased level of pretend or imaginative |
| Sensitivities in the senses of sight, | | | | play, a decreased level of imitation of the |
| hearing, touch, smell or test may be | | | | actions of the others and they prefer |
| experienced by people with autism. Because of | | | | solitary or ritualistic play. Their behaviors |
| the sensitivities of their skin children with | | | | may be: repetitive body movements, a strong |
| autism will refuse to wear "itchy" clothes. | | | | need for sameness, "acts out" with intense |
| The following areas may be affected in a | | | | tantrums, very narrow interests, an obsessive |
| different degrees: communication, inability | | | | interest in a single item, idea, activity or |
| to start or sustain a conversation, repeated | | | | person, an apparent lack of common sense. |
| words, reverses pronouns, nonsense rhyming, | | | | |
| communication with gestures instead of words, | | | | Recent studies have shown that children with |
| short attention, span. | | | | autism are treated like normal people, but |
| | | | unfortunately they live in their own world. |