Starting Points: What Is Autism?

From ARI, a good description of autism and some stats, too:

Autism is a severely handicapping disorder which begins at birth or within the first 2 ½ years of life.

For many years autism occured in about 5 children per 10,000 live births. However, since the early 1990's, the rate of autism has increased enormously throughout the world, so that figures as high as 60 per 10,000 are being reported. The reasons for the increase are being debated...

Most autistic children are perfectly normal in appearance, but spend their time engaged in puzzling and disturbing behaviors which are markedly different from those of normal children.

They may stare into space for hours, throw uncontrollable tantrums, show no interest in people (including their parents) and pursue strange, repetitive activities with no apparent purpose.

They have been described as living in a world of their own. Some autistic individuals are remarkably gifted in certain areas such as music or mathematics, as depicted in the film Rain Man. All need help.

Now, this is only a snapshot autism taken from one view. And I don't agree with everything ARI suggests about causes and treatments of autism. But this is a good starting point, if you've not gotten far down the educational road about autism.

My advice: Read a bunch. Take much of what you read with a grain of salt. Look for trends in the research. Don't discount the traditional medical establishment - nor should you toss out the less conventional perspectives and studies. Remember that your child is not the same as every other kid with autism. Pray. Be smart. Be your child's advocate - who else will fight for him?