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The CDC defines Autism as "Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disability  that can cause significant social, communication and behavioral challenges. There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. The learning, thinking, and problem-solving abilities of people with ASD can range from gifted to severely challenged. Some people with ASD need a lot of help in their daily lives; others need less.

A diagnosis of ASD now includes several conditions that used to be diagnosed separately: autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), and Asperger syndrome. These conditions are now all called autism spectrum disorder."

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Amythest, an Autistic advocate, shares what it means to be Autistic, from the perspective of an Autistic person

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autistic spectrum disorders (disease or medical condition)

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What is autism? What are some common autistic traits? Is autism a disability? How can I help accommodate autistic people? How should I treat autistic people? Answers to all of these questions and more in this episode of Ask an Autistic! Related videos: What is Stimming? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WexCWZPJE6A What is Sensory Processing Disorder?

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Characteristics (from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network)

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Characteristics (from the Autistic Self Advocacy Network)

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While all Autistics are as unique as any other human beings, they share some characteristics typical of autism in common.

1. Different sensory experiences. For example, heightened sensitivity to light, difficulty interpreting internal physical sensations, hearing loud sounds as soft and soft sounds as loud, or synesthesia.

2. Non-standard ways of learning and approaching problem solving. For example, learning “difficult” tasks (e.g. calculus) before “simple” tasks (e.g. addition), difficulty with “executive functions,” or being simultaneously gifted at tasks requiring fluid intelligence and intellectually disabled at tasks requiring verbal skills.

3. Deeply focused thinking and passionate interests in specific subjects. “Narrow but deep,” these “special interests” could be anything from mathematics to ballet, from doorknobs to physics, and from politics to bits of shiny paper.

4. Atypical, sometimes repetitive, movement. This includes “stereotyped” and “self-stimulatory” behavior such as rocking or flapping, and also the difficulties with motor skills and motor planning associated with apraxia or dyspraxia.

5. Need for consistency, routine, and order. For example, holidays may be experienced more with anxiety than pleasure, as they mean time off from school and the disruption of the usual order of things. People on the autistic spectrum may take great pleasure in organizing and arranging items.

6. Difficulties in understanding and expressing language as used in typical communication, both verbal and non-verbal. This may manifest similarly to semantic-pragmatic language disorder. It’s often because a young child does not seem to be developing language that a parent first seeks to have a child evaluated. As adults, people with an autism spectrum diagnosis often continue to struggle to use language to explain their emotions and internal state, and to articulate concepts (which is not to say they do not experience and understand these).

7. Difficulties in understanding and expressing typical social interaction. For example, preferring parallel interaction, having delayed responses to social stimulus, or behaving in an “inappropriate” manner to the norms of a given social context (for example, not saying “hi” immediately after another person says “hi”).

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All Brains Work Differently:  An animation on autism

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All Brains Work Differently:  An animation on autism

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How do you see the world versus someone with Autism?

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One of the best videos Ive seen explaining what Autism is and how we are all the same. Must watch. Kudos to the creators. I did not create this video. More can be found out about the project and team of creators here http://amazingthingshappen.tv/

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Community Resources, Services, or agencies available for Autistic people and their families

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Community Resources, Services, or agencies available for Autistic people and their families

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Here are just some of the resources available:
1) Autistic Self Advocacy Network http://autisticadvocacy.org/
This is a great resource, especially for Autistic people, or for those who want to know how best to support their Autistic friends or family.
2) Neurowonderful
http://neurowonderful.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/neurowonderful
This is from Neurowonderful and has well over one hundred links to resources on different aspects of Autism
This is an excellent blog run by an Autistic person who is an outspoken advocate for Autistic rights. They have all sorts of resources about Autism and what its like to be Autistic.
3) Resource Masterpost
https://www.nationalautismresources.com/
Find resources to buy tools for aiding those with Autism.  Think Fidget Spinners, weighted blankets, sensory motor toys, etc.
4). Raising Arizona Kids:  http://www.raisingarizonakids.com/special-needs-resources-arizona/autism-resources-arizona/
Find Resources within Arizona Autism and Asperger syndrome support
5). Autism Society of Greater Phoenix:  http://phxautism.org/resources/
Provides links for parenting mentors, those new to autism or just resources in general.  A great way to start understanding Autism or to find resources for complex issues.
The under standing autism link is also quite useful:  http://phxautism.org/understanding-autism/
6).  Autism Speaks Arizona Chapter:
https://www.autismspeaks.org/resource-guide/state/AZ
Great link for resources within the state of Arizona including Advocacy resources, community and support networks, Health Services, Etc.

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Common Myths and Misconceptions about Autistic People

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Common Myths and Misconceptions about Autistic People

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1. That they have no interest in having friends
*While some Autistic people may have no interest in having friends, this isn't universal. Just like neurotypical people, Autistic people have a diverse view on friendships.
2. Autistic people are unable to express any emotion
*While many Autistic people express emotion in ways that are different from what neurotypical people expect, that doesn't meant they don't exist. Much like the way a cat expresses itself in a different manner than a dog, Autistic people express themselves differently than neurotypical people.
3. Autistic people can't understand emotions of others
*This goes back to number two. Many Autistic people struggle to understand the ways neurotypical people express emotion, just as they struggle to understand the emotions of Autistic people.
4. Autistic means intellectually disabled
*Not necessarily. According to the CDC, approximately 46% of Autistic children have an average or above average intelligence.
5.  Autistic people will eventually grow out of it/be cured
*This one is 100% false. You can no more be "cured" of Autism than you can be "cured" of being short. Autism is a way the brain interacts with the world, much like the way an operating system of a computer works. You can't "cure" an Mac of its IOS. If you did that, you would no longer have a Mac; you'd have a Windows computer with a Mac body.
6. Autism is caused by vaccines
*This one has been disproved  by countless other, peer-reviewed studies but not one has replicated it. In fact, the doctor who published the original study lost his license for falsifying the study.

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http://www.autismacceptancemonth.com/resources/parent/

http://www.autreat.com/dont_mourn.html

http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2013/04/what-i-wish-id-been-made-aware-of-when.html

http://amazingadventuresautism.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/the-letter-i-wish-i-had-read-when-my.html

http://thecaffeinatedautistic.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/to-the-parents-of-newly-diagnosed-autistics/

http://www.autistichoya.com/2012/03/letter-to-parents-of-autistic-children.html

http://www.autistichoya.com/2013/02/my-heart-breaks-for-your-child.html

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Many of the needs Autistic people have relate to their differing sensory and communication needs. These vary wildly depending on the person in question. For people who are nonverbal or partially verbal, an Alternative Augmentative Communication (AAC) device or app will allow them to communicate. For those who are hypersensitive to light and sound, they may need sunglasses and headphones.

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Approximately 1 in 68 8 year-olds have been diagnosed as Autistic.

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Click below for the National Autistic Society Twitter Link

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Accommodations, modifications, and adaptations to support learning

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Accommodations, modifications, and adaptations to support learning

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http://autisticadvocacy.org/
https://www.autismspeaks.org/

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Autism as explained by someone that experiences it everyday.

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Dylan is a 19 yr old boy with Autism. This is his explanation to a family friend what it means to him.