Autism is one of the mental, emotional, and behavior disorders that appears in early childhood, usually within the first 3 years of a child's life. Autism affects many aspects of a child's development- such as: difficultly in communicating with others; repetitious behaviors (like rocking back and forth, headbanging, or touching or twirling objects); a limited range of interests and activities; and having very little tolerance for change in their environment or daily routine. Several other features of autism include- communication: their language develops slowly or not at all; uses words without attaching the usual meaning to them; communicates with gestures instead of words; short attention span; social interaction: spends time alone, rather than with others; shows little interest in making friends; less responsive to social cues (such as eye contact or smiles); sensory impairment: may have sensitivities in the areas of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste to a greater or lesser degree; play: lack of spontaneous or imaginative play; does not imitate others' actions; does not initiate pretend games; behaviors: may be overactive or very passive (throws tantrums for no apparent reason); apparent lack of common sense; may show aggression to others or self (Wing, 34). In addition, some autistic children do demonstrate special skills. These skills are referred to as "isolated islets of intelligence" (Capps-Sigman, 7). For example, some autistic children have the ability to draw, play music, or recall a certain date. They are referred to as a savant- "they suffer from the autistic disorder syndrome but also [have] some singular talent" (Capps-Sigman, 15).
             The symptoms and characteristics of autism can present themselves in a wide variety of combinations, from mild to severe. Therefore, there is no standard "type" or "typical" person with autism. This difficultly in recognizing and acknowledging autism often leads to a lack of services...