What is Autism?
Autism was first defined in the 1940's by the American Prof. Leo Kanner. He chose the name because of the aloofness and emotional unresponsiveness which characterise the young autistic child. Further observations revealed their difficulty in processing sensory input. This "overloading" leads to many bizarre and difficult behaviours which can be hard to understand by others. It can also delay the development of language. Some autistic children never learn to speak, and, many more have pecularities of intonation, sentence structure and repetitiveness.
Recently the term "autism spectrum disorder" (ASD) has tended to replace the diagnosis of "autism". This name change emphasises the fact that the autistic community comprises people with a whole range of abilities, disabilities, behaviour problems, interests and talents. Regardless of the severity of the condition, appropiate intervention from infancy onwards will lead to maximum improvement and the ability of each person to achieve his/her own potential and participate in the wider community.
Staff working with and teaching children and adults with ASD look for areas of potential excellence even in the most disabled individual, and sometimes we discover something wonderful!
More information on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and autism specific services in Australia can be found at www.autismvictoria.org.au
