Introduction

Autism is on the rise. Many researchers feel the reasons isn’t because there are more kids being afflicted with it, but the increased public awareness has allowed this disorder to be more easily recognized and diagnosed at a earlier age. The word “autism” was first used by a Swiss psychiatrist Eugene Bleuler in an article written in the American Journal of Insanity in 1912. It comes from the Greek word meaning self. Bleuler used it to describe the schizophrenic’s seeming difficulty in connecting with others (“Autism”). It wasn’t until 1943 when the classification of autism was introduced by Dr. Leo Kanner. Dr. Kanner, a psychiatrist from John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, reported on eleven child patients
While most child points at what they want, autistic children handlead instead (Siegel, 27). There are many impairments that go along with autism such as visual, voice, and hearing. The visual impairments are due to brain damage rather than sensory impairments (Wing 50). The voice impairments include an odd inotation and problems controlling volume. Some with autism have a voice with an odd, mechanical, robot-like quality. Most likely the voice will should like a deaf child’s voice (Siegel, 49). The last impairment is hearing, it’s important to make sure he or she isn’t deaf. Autistic disorders can concur with any degree of deafness and may be dual diagnosed (Wing 50). After seeing some of those symptoms parents may being to wonder what is wrong with their child, since autism is not detectable at birth. Different doctors may not have the same conclusion because of the vague diagnostic critera for autism (“Autism”). The best place to get diagnosed is at a center specializing in a range of developmental disorders. While getting diagnosed, those with autism are not physically distinguishable from those who do not have autism. The diagnosis comes from a complete physical and neurological evaluation (“Autism”). “What is the cure?” Lauren Jenkins asked her doctor. He told her, “There is no cure for autism.” (Bridges). Many treatments are available for autism. Just as there is no cure for autism, it cannot be outgrown. Although