There is a varied list of general and specific symptoms and behaviors that have been observed in autistic individuals. However, not every autistic person evidences every symptom, nor is the severity of frequency exhibited the same. Some of the major affected areas are: delay in social, physical and cognitive skills, immature patterns of speech, lack of speech or echolalia, limited understanding of ideas, use of words without the attachment of their usual meaning, abnormal responses to sensations and abnormal ways of relating to people, objects and events. Some specific abnormalities are: difficulty in social interaction, resists learning, shows lack of fear of real dangers, resists change in routine, unreceptive to physical attention,

The neurological and genetic impairment view is widely accepted as the area of causation today, although more research is needed to locate the specific areas of dysfunction. It appears that there are a variety of specific causes in tandem with the variance found in the manifestation of the syndrome itself. In the area of genetic causation, for example, there exists a promising study nearing completion at the Institute for Basic Research in New York. This study deals with the chromosomal defect in autistic individuals called "fragile x." However, the scientific community is awaiting further information.

Many autistic individuals have made great strides due to the many services available to them. In 1970, and adult with autism probably would not have been seen in a local department store unless accompanied by a parent. In 1980 the same individual might have been seen with ten other adults, who were severely handicapped, and their escort. Now it is quite possible that the person who priced the items on the rack is a store employee who has autism.

Approximately three-quarters of people with autism also have some degree of mental retardation, however, the remainder of the population can have average to above average intelligence. Children with autism who are also mentally retarded can benefit greatly from education and training despite the severity of retardation and the extent of learning disabilities. Well-designed educational and training efforts can result in the acquisition of a variety of functional skills for working, living, and learning in integrated community settings.

Over the past fifteen years, individuals with autism have experienced some increased availability of services. Improved residential and vocational services have allowed for a very slow emergence from institutional placements.

Verbal outbursts may serve the function of allowing the individual to escape activity. Providing them with choices throughout the day can eliminate verbal outbursts. Teaching them to say no, to stop an activity, or to ask for a break can also help reduce verbal outbursts in the classroom, home, or vocational setting. Verbal outbursts can often be avoided with the autistic child by simply providing frequent access to those items, activities or events that the child is attempting to acquire by the out bursts. Behavior modification can be used successfully in dealing with the problem of undesirable verbal communication. Strategies for modifying disruptive verbalizations need to be individualized to account for the individual's purpose in screaming and the demands of the situation. Another method is the individualized intervention plans whereby the individual is taught that he will be taken away from a desired activity for a certain period of time if he persists in his negative verbalizations. He will be allowed to return to the desired activity when his undesirable verbalizations have ceased for a certain period of time.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Research York, AUTISM Autism, autistic children, people autism, individuals autism, children autism, verbal outbursts, education training, autistic individuals, autistic child, social skills, sensory stimulation, using preferred stimuli,
Approximate Word count = 2833
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)