Introduction+to+A&A+by+EO

__Introduction__ Autism and Asperger's Syndrome are both neurological disorders that affect a person's behavior and their social and communication skills. Autism affects how information is processed in the brain by changing how nerve cells and their synapses form and connect together. Bothe the disorders autism and Asperger's are part of a group of disorders known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) along with PDD-NOS, Rett Syndrome, and Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. This group of disorders is also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders or ASD.

Autism was first discovered about sixty years ago by Dr. Leo Kanner. He studied symptoms and behavior of children who had been classified as emotionally disturbed or mentally retarded. He found that some of them didn't quite fit all the standards of emtionally disturbed children. He called this Early Infantile Autism, also known as Kanner's Syndrome. He used the word autism which had been coined to mean "escape from reality" because he thought the children seemed to be trying to find an escape from reality. Around the same time an this, an Austrian scientist named Hans Asperger observed similar characteristics in boys, but they had normal intelligence and language skills. He described this as "high-functioning autism," and it has now become known as Asperger's syndrome. Although many people refer to it as a milder form of autism, it is actually a separate disorder from autism.

About every one in 110 children are diagnoised with autism, which proves that it is more common than juvenile diabetes and childhood cancer. Autism is about three to four times more likely to develop in boys than in girls. Autism also seems to occur more often in individuals that also have conditions like Fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, congenital rubella syndrome, and untreated phenylketonuria. Twins also have a higher risk for autism.