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About Autism

What is Autism?

Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex neuro-developmental disorders, also known as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by challenges related to:

  • Communication

  • Social interaction

  • Restrictive or repetitive behaviors and interests

"If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism" - Dr. Stephen Shore

  • No two people with autism are the same. Although there are characteristics often associated with autism, someone with autism may display many of those characteristics, display unique combinations of such characteristics, or display few to none of those characteristics but may struggle internally to "keep down" such characteristics.

  • You may not even be able to tell that somebody has autism; this is why autism is referred to as an "invisible disability."

  • The features, abilities, and severity of symptoms vary hugely among people with autism- autism is a SPECTRUM!

  • The severity of autism refers to the extent to which a person's autism impacts their daily life. 

  • It is imperative to not make generalizations about autism or people with autism.

If  Using This Site as a Training Module:

to go to the next section: Knowledge for R.A.s- Challenges for College Students with ASD

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