Get Informed

About Autism

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects 1 in 88 - some say as many as 1 in 50 - children in the USA - and the numbers are rising. Autism affects a person's ability to communicate, form relationships with others and respond appropriately to their environment.

The signs of autism typically appear in the first three years of life. The disorder has no known cause or cure, though treatment can sometimes reduce the symptoms.

Autism manifests itself in individuals in different ways and intensities. Some people with autism are relatively high functioning, with full control of their speech and intelligence. Others are mentally retarded, mute or have serious language delays.

Autism makes some individuals close off and shut down. Others seem locked into repetitive behaviors and rigid patterns of thinking.
What is autism?
Adapted from the CT Autism Spectrum Resource Center
Autism is a group of a neurobiological disorders (also known as Pervasive Developmental Disorders) that includes DPP-NOS, autism, and Asperger's syndrome. These conditions generally result in:
  • Delay or absense of speech
  • Impairment of social awareness that can result in unusual interactions with people (i.e. lack of eye contact, misreading of nonverbal social cues, lack of awareness of the feelings or thoughts of others, etc.)
  • Anomalies within the sensory systems that can result in altered sensitivity to touch, sound, light etc. and/or impairment of balance or joint compressions sytems that can result in clumsiness or awkward movements
  • Unusual behavior patterns (i.e. repetitive, seemingly purposeless actions, attachments to unusual objects or a "special interest" in a topic to the exclusion of other activities, etc.)
  • Cognitive thinking systems (such as academic ability) may or may not be affected.
The above behaviors lead to an inability to make and keep friends, an inability to find and hold jobs, and an inability to express themselves.
This, in turn, leads to frustration, anxiety, withdrawal and depression.
Lifelong training & supervision
An estimated 60% of adults with autism need lifelong training, supervision and reinforcement of skills. Public schools' responsibility for providing these services ends when the autistic person is 21 years old.

​The needs of autistic adults include:
  • Speech/Communication programs. These may include computer language programs, sign language, icon/picture booklets and/or etiquette training.
  • Assisted living arrangements. These include group homes, apartments with appropriate staffing and skilled support services.
  • Nutritional guidance. Much of contemporary research shows links between what autistic children and adults eat, how they behave and how their brains take in their environment.
  • Vocational training and job coaches to help autistic adults find and hold jobs so they may become productive members of society.
  • Psychological therapy to help adults with autism deal with their anxieties, depression and frustrations.

Turning 21

​What Will Happen When Your Autistic Child Turns 21?

Where will he live? Will jobs be available to him? Will she continue to receive life skills training from qualified caregivers? Will she be safe?
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When autistic children reach age 21, they and their families are left to fend for themselves. Appropriate placements are just not available. The profoundly autistic may find themselves in institutional settings where they stay for the rest of their lives.

​Our Children Deserve More Options

Friends of Autistic People works to increase the options available to autistic adults, by raising awareness of facts such as:
  • 60% of adults with autism will need care throughout their lives.
  • Adults with autism do not have any government-mandated support after they turn 21.
  • Higher functioning autistic adults get very few services and are often taken care of by their aging parents.

Resources & Links

A number of organizations provide terrific resources for those affected by autism.