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Early intervention can improve learning, communication and social skills, as well as underlying brain development.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) and therapies based on its principles are the most researched and commonly used behavioral interventions for autism.

Many children affected by autism also benefit from other interventions such as speech and occupational therapy.

Developmental regression, or loss of skills, such as language and social interests, affects around 1 in 5 children who will go on to be diagnosed with autism and typically occurs between ages 1 and 3.

Source: www.Autismspeaks.org

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Research indicates that genetics are involved in the vast majority of cases.

Children born to older parents are at a higher risk for having autism.

Parents who have a child with ASD have a 2 to 18 percent chance of having a second child who is also affected.

Studies have shown that among identical twins, if one child has autism, the other will be affected about 36 to 95 percent of the time. In non-identical twins, if one child has autism, then the other is affected about 31 percent of the time.

Over the last two decades, extensive research has asked whether there is any link between childhood vaccinations and autism. The results of this research are clear: Vaccines do not cause autism.

Source: www.Autismspeaks.org

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In 2020, the CDC reported that approximately 1 in 54 children in the U.S. is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to 2016 data.

1 in 34 boys identified with autism

1 in 144 girls identified with autism

Source: www.Autismspeaks.org

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Recent research shows a clear biological origin for autism in the form of abnormal prenatal and postnatal brain development, structure, or neurochemistry
Although the precise neurobiological mechanisms associated with autism have not been discovered, “it is clear that autism reflects the operation of factors in the developing brain”

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According to www.psychiatry.org

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition that involves persistent challenges in social interaction, speech and nonverbal communication, and restricted/repetitive behaviors.

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Early diagnosis enables early intervention, which correlates with dramatically better outcomes than are typically obtained when intervention begins later in the child’s life.

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10 things you should know. Explained by a young child who has Autism

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Autism "Awareness" - Ten Things You Should Know

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Overview of what Autism Spectrum Disorder is

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This article shares the reasoning behind why kids with autism avoid eye contact which is a common sign of autism.

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(Image credit: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-386239p1.html">Zurijeta</a> | <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a>)

Children with autism often have difficulty making eye contact, and now a new study suggests this may be due in part to how their brains process visual information, rather than being purely a social deficit.

In the study, children with autism showed activity over a larger area of the brain's cortex when an image was placed in the periphery of their visual field, compared with when the image was placed in the center of their visual field. The opposite was true in children who did not have the disorder.

When a child with autism avoids eye contact, "we are very much inclined to interpret this as a social deficit," said study researcher John Foxe, a neuroscientist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. "But it may be a much more fundamental issue," stemming from a reduced ability early in life to control the muscles that govern eye movements, he said.

In the study, the researchers looked at 22 children with autism, and 31 kids without the disorder. A checkerboard pattern was flashed in front of the children on a screen, while electrodes were used to measure their brain activity. The researchers tried to determine how much of the cortex's area was dedicated to processing the checkerboard's location.

For most people, a much larger area of the cortex is dedicated to the center of the visual field, as opposed to the periphery. "If you put your thumb up, out in front of you at an arm's length, it takes up about 1 degree of visual space, and your brain has about 4 square centimeters of cortex devoted to it. If you move your thumb six or eight inches to right, now only 1.5 square millimeters of cortex is devoted," Foxe explained.

In the study, "what we found was that indeed, at peripheral locations, children with autism spectrum disorders showed larger responses in the cortex," he said.

The "map" of the cortex, in which the space allotted to each visual field is set, develops early in life. The new finding suggests that "children with autism have a basic difference in how their visual cortex is mapped," Foxe said. "More neurons were being devoted to process information in the periphery."

It's known that children with autism often have deficits in their motor skills, and it may be that during infancy, this extends to a reduced ability to control eye movements, which prevents the cortex from being mapped as it is in people without the condition, Foxe said.

The inability to control eye movements certainly doesn't cause autism, but may work"like gasoline on a fire," Foxe said. An infant with autism may be unable to direct their eyes to exactly where they want, and people in the child's life react to not having eye contact with the child. People think the child is disengaged from social interactions, so they disengage, and it becomes a cycle, he said.

However, much more research is needed to confirm whether this is true, the new study provides only the first evidence of this idea, he said.

Further research should also test younger children, he said. The youngest children in the new study were 7, but autism can reliably be diagnosed as early as age 3 or 4, and may even be detected during the first months of a child's life, he said.
Follow Karen Rowan @karenjrowan. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook &Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

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Why Kids With Autism May Avoid Eye Contact

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(Image credit: Zurijeta | Shutterstock ) Children with autism often have difficulty making eye contact, and now a new study suggests this may be due in part to how their brains process visual information, rather than being purely a social deficit.

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These are online modules to support students with Autism

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Access free AFIRM online modules and resources for each of the 27 evidence-based practices

identified by the National Professional Development Center
on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sign up now.

Free COVID-19 Toolkit:

Free resources for supporting children and youth with ASD during uncertain times such as COVID-19 social narratives, hand washing task analysis, and calming strategies.

Earn a free professional development certificate

for completing each EBP module

Learn with AFIRM

through engaging case examples, videos, and interactive assessments

Download resources and materials

that support your use of EBPs with children and youth with ASD

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Access free AFIRM online modules and resources for each of the 27 evidence-based practices identified by the National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Sign up now. Free COVID-19 Toolkit: Free resources for supporting children and youth with ASD during uncertain times such as COVID-19 social narratives, hand washing task analysis, and calming strategies.

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There are many signs/symptoms of Autism. I used www.Medicinenet.com to find a few to list below...

Abnormal Body Posturing or Facial Expressions

Abnormal Tone of Voice

Avoidance of Eye Contact or Poor Eye Contact

Behavioral Disturbances

Deficits in Language Comprehension

Delay in Learning to Speak

Flat or Monotonous Speech

Inappropriate Social Interaction

Intense Focus on One Topic

Lack of Empathy

Lack of Understanding Social Cues

Learning Disability or Difficulty

Not Engaging in Play With Peers

Preoccupation With Specific Topics

Problems With Two-Way Conversation

Repeating Words or Phrases

Repetitive Movements

Self-Abusive Behaviors

Social Withdrawal

Unusual Reactions in Social Settings

Using Odd Words or Phrases

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World wide Autism awareness day is on April 2nd each year!