Autism

[|Autism][[file:Forms Autism.docx]]
Autism is a **complex** neurobehavioral **disorder** that **includes** impairments in social **interaction** and **developmental** language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. The disorder **covers** a large spectrum of symptoms, skills, and levels of impairment. It ranges in severity from a handicap that somewhat limits an otherwise normal life to a **devastating** disability that may require institutional care. Children with autism have trouble communicating. They have trouble understanding what other people think and feel. This makes it very **hard** for them to express themselves either with words or through gestures, facial expressions, and touch. A child with autism who is very sensitive may be greatly troubled -- sometimes even pained -- by **sounds**, touches, smells, or sights that seem normal to others. Children who are autistic may have repetitive, stereotyped body movements such as rocking, pacing, or hand flapping. They may have unusual responses to people, attachments to objects, resistance to change in their routines, or aggressive or self-injurious behavior. At times they may seem not to notice people, objects, or activities in their surroundings. Some children with autism may also develop seizures. And in some cases, those seizures may not occur until adolescence.

1. complex - complicated 2. disorder - disease, illness, sickness 3. includes - contains 4. interaction - communication 5. developmental - the process of developing; growth; progress 7. covers - to be or serve as a covering for 8. devastating - disastrous 9. hard - difficult