1. Social Development
2. Behavioral Differences
3. Impaired Communications
4. Sensory Integration Difficulties
5. Incidence
6. Causation
7. Interventions

Social Development

"I had no idea that other people communicated through subtle eye movements until I read it in a magazine ..." Temple Grandin, Professor of Animal Husbandry at the University of Colorado. (Time, May 6, 2000)

People with autism generally do not have the innate ability to read body language or the emotions of others. There can also be a difficulty in understanding the complex social rules that make up "normal society", which most of us learn and internalize quickly and without explicit instruction. Empathy can also be a challenge as individuals with autism have a lot of difficulty understanding that people around them have thoughts and feelings that are different from their own. This is often referred to as being Mindblind.

A well known person with autism, Temple Grandin, likened this impairment to being "an anthropologist on Mars". In other words, she does not innately understand the mannerisms, social norms and rules for interaction amongst people. She must study people to learn how to act.

This does NOT mean that autistic people are emotionless, or dislike social contact. They exhibit and share emotions differently.