Autism
With onset in the first years of life, autism presents as a disorder of profound social disconnect rooted in early brain development. A child with autism may appear unaware of his surroundings. He may also fail to respond to the sights and sounds of a social world. Often, with limited speech and language skills, the child follows a different development pattern compared to other children in the same age group. He has difficulty playing with other children and making friends. Alone, the child engages in restricted, repetitive behavior that is hard to understand.
Autism symptoms range in presentation and severity. Children with autism frequently have an intellectual disability, but some children with autism will have normal intelligence. Children with autism may also have seizures, motor abnormalities, anxiety, sleep cycle disturbances, gastrointestinal problems, immune dysfunction and sensory disturbances. Not all the features are present in every child. Instead, a subset of features underlies autism in each individual