| The symptoms of autism are hard to define because | | | | sarcasm would seem out of place and unusual in |
| each autistic child is unique in their own way. Not only | | | | normal conversation. Physical comedy may be |
| are the symptoms individualized but the severity of the | | | | understood by the autistic child, but there actions in |
| disorder also differs from child to child. One child might | | | | both body language and spoken word would seem |
| have mild autism and be able to function normally at | | | | inappropriate to the situation. |
| home or in the classroom. The only difference you | | | | When talking to an autistic child, the lack of eye |
| might see is minor social awkwardness when | | | | contact is normally seen. They may be listening to you, |
| interacting with other or a certain preference of where | | | | but their body and eyes are concentrated on |
| there food is positioned on a plate. | | | | something else. You may have their full attention, but |
| On the severe side you might see a child that has no | | | | you would think that the child was totally consumed by |
| communication skills. They are impulsive and their | | | | another person or an object that has little significance |
| behaviour, though no fault of theirs, borders on one | | | | to you. |
| that is socially unacceptable. Some autistic children | | | | The autistic child sometime does not have the ability to |
| have no fear of social norms. | | | | imagine anything outside of self. If you asked an |
| One of the symptoms of autism is a delayed or | | | | autistic child if they would like to do what their friend is |
| unusual speech pattern. When young severe autistic | | | | doing or how would you feel if that happened to you, |
| children will grunt, stutter, or talk slowly with long breaks | | | | they could not put the concept together to compare |
| between each word and syllable. Mild autistic children | | | | themselves to the other person or situation. |
| have been known to memorize entire books or scripts | | | | Putting themselves in another's shoes is not a concept |
| from a television show. | | | | they can grasp or communicate. When they do |
| There was a case in Maine where a teenage autistic | | | | communicate it may seem awkward and |
| boy could not tell you what he had for breakfast or | | | | inappropriate. They may speak with a very high voice |
| what his mother's name was but he could tell you, by | | | | that seems out of place or with a very flat voice that |
| cabin, the entire passenger manifest of the Titanic. | | | | is sometimes inaudible or hard to understand. The |
| Other cases have included numbers in their speech | | | | conversation, if they are capable will be void of any |
| pattern. An autistic child in Texas had the unusual talent | | | | slang words or words associated in the vocabulary of |
| of counting the number of letters of each word as you | | | | a person that age. |
| spoke them. The count was accurate and immediate, | | | | All these nuances and symptoms of the disorder can |
| but again, simple knowledge was almost impossible to | | | | be viewed, especially by peers, as being socially |
| communicate. | | | | unacceptable and divergent of societal norms. Even |
| Subtle nuances in language are also a symptom of | | | | when playing with others, the other children will have a |
| autism. For example, the autistic child would not | | | | hard time interacting with the autistic child. This could |
| understand humour or would find humour in something | | | | lead to isolation and further social development unless |
| that was not funny. The emotional reaction to irony or | | | | the interaction is facilitated by an understanding adult. |