What is a social problem? An easy way to describe my definition of a social problem is to believe a social problem is a controversial issue, which effects or has ability to effect a great percentage of the population. It is an issue that has the potential to be solved, however takes government intervention and the help of the surrounded environment to come to a conclusion. Social problems are usually surrounded and intertwined with smaller issues or problems. Problems like this usually get a lot of press/news coverage, which may lead to public demonstrations either for or against the issue at hand. They also have a long history of controversy; social problems do not just appear out of the woodwork. Autism is one of our societies Health problems. It has molded from a health issue, to a large Social problem.

Most frequently asked question by everyone is, "What is Autism?" Autism is a severely incapacitating life long developmental disability that mostly appears in the first three years of life.

Autism can occur in as many as 22 of every 10,000 births in the United States and affects close to 400,000 Americans. Boys are about four times as likely as girls, to be aff

There are many challenges faced by families who have to deal with an autistic person in their household. They will be very stressed, have lack of support, financial issues, sometimes even marital issues, and shopping for service (Zager, p. 269) The primary thing needed when dealing with autism is patience. Families need to interact and get involved together to benefit for the child who has the disability. Working together and sticking together makes a good family. There also has to be family support services dedicated to strengthening the families ability to provide care and opportunity for the autistic person to live, without diminishing the family's normal lifestyle.

Socially Autism has become a large problem. There are many reason, as well as occurrences, which pertain to its reasoning for being such a large social problem. Some of these are subjects such as, confusion, misdiagnosis, denial, family issues, poverty, isolation, and resentment. Many make the mistake of confusing autism itself with secondary diseases and disorders that may tag along with the autism. Autism has such a variety of neurological disorders that can arise from it. It is easy for misconception to occur when so many factors are looked at by society as being "wrongs". It is so easy to lump the difficulties and inability's in functioning together, and many people devalue the whole person and who they are because of what they are.

Today the term Autism is usually associated with the syndrome described by Kanner, but its use began much earlier. Two-child psychologist pioneers Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger who, independently of each other, first published accounts of this disorder. These publications, Kanners's in 1943 and Asperger's in 1944, contained detailed case descriptions and also offered the first theoretical attempts to explain the disorder. Both authorities believed that there was present from birth a fundamental disturbance, which gave rise to highly characteristic problems. This took place at John Hopkins Medical School. He noted the behavior of 11 children between 1938 and 1944. Observing the characteristics of isolation, withdrawal from human contact, and social and communication abilities. Many of the early theories of the causes of autism focused on the family environment. However, through the studies of emotional tension within the family it indicated that there was extreme stress for caring for children with autism, bringing on more emotional difficulties than before. Showing that these difficulties were not a cause but a result of the disorder. Kanner saw the social disorder as the cardinal sign and even chose the word autism to convey that emphasis. Kanner explained "unlike people with schizophrenia, those with autism show extreme aloneness form the beginning of life" (Zager, p.4)

earing", and did what the felt like doing, when they wanted.

Recent reports have noted that 50% of children with autism do not use verbal language as their primary way of communication, and 20% to 30% exhibit speech regression after initial development. Studies have continued to ranges such as the difference between language of autistic adults with language of children who have autism. It was found as well that the majorities of individuals with autism demonstrate self-recognition and object performance, but only half-demonstrated good imitation skills.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 3810
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)