We’re going to be talking about autism around here at the One Fat Frog Blog over the next few days – for a number of reasons. If you’re unfamiliar with the disorder, this post is going to break down some basic information about it. Autism is a disorder of neural development commonly diagnosed in the early years of a child’s life. Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by repetitive and restricted behavior. Information processing in the brain is affected by autism; altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize information.
Autism is one of the three recognized disorders in the autism spectrum (ASDs), the other two being Asperger syndrome and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (usually abbreviated to PDD-NOS). Asperger lacks delays in cognitive development and language, while PDD-NOS is diagnosed when the full set of criteria for autism of Asperger syndrome are not met.
While the genetics of autism are complex, it is understood that autism has a strong genetic basis. The prevalence of autism is about 1-2 per 1,000 people wolrdwide. However, the Center for Disease Control reports that approximately 9 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD. Either way you look at it, that’s a whole lot of kids. The number of people diagnosed with autism has increased dramatically since the 1908s, partly due to major changes in diagnostic practice. The CDC and others are unsure whether actual prevalence is the one increasing.
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