Mom worked with autistic children.
I've worked with tons of people that I know who are on the spectrum - but now I think severe autism has really increased.
I have a condition called Aspergers Syndrome, which is like a mild form of autism It means I don't interact properly in certain social situations.
I was nonverbal until I was four years old. Back in the 50s, I was the kind of kid they used to just put away in an institution. But then you get the milder autism where there's no speech delay, but they're socially awkward. Those kids were around when I was a child. They were just called geeks and nerds.
Without a doubt in my mind, I believe that vaccinations triggered Evan's autism.
Autism is a very serious condition.
My two little twin brothers have autism, so I grew up around it and misunderstood it for a long time.
I was not developmentally disabled, but didn't mature at the same rate other kids did.
I am an educator and neuroscientist who studies how the brain learns to read and what happens when a young brain can't learn to read easily, as in the childhood learning challenge, developmental dyslexia.
I've been interested in autism since I've known about it, which is more or less since I've been writing.
Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in our nation.
Autism is a severe neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by social withdrawal, by repetitive behaviors and by some kind of focal attention in its classic form. Basically, it's an inability to relate to others.
The thing is, autism is a big spectrum. Going from folks who remain nonverbal, all the way up to, ya know, famous scientists and musicians. And we've got to work on strengths. We also have to work on teaching basic manners and skills.
One area of study that still needs to be done is the kind of autism where kids have speech and they lose it. Some parents say it's happened right after vaccines. That group needs to be studied separately from others.
I did want to acknowledge and confirm the fact that my son does, indeed, have an autism diagnosis.
