Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability. Children with Autism have a problem with part of their brain. That means, kids with Autism develop skills differently than most other kids. But they can learn and grow up to have jobs just like you. Children with Autism may also have a different way of seeing, hearing, or feeling things. Like when you have gloves on in the winter and you try to pick up your pencil. It may be a little harder to pick up, but it feels different than when you don't have gloves on. Children with Autism may have difficulty communicating. Some kids with Autism cannot speak, so they may learn to use computers or a board with pictures on it to tell people what they want or how they feel. Having Autism is like living in a foreign country where you don't know the language or like trying to learn the rules of a very difficult game.

Some children with Autism may have trouble talking. There are some people with Autism who don't speak at all, others who speak sometimes, and some who talk just like you. You may hear a person with Autism repeat a word or phrase that someone else said to them. They often don't ask for what they want or need...or talk about their feelings. Children with Autism may act a little differently from other kids. They may spend much of their bme alone or seem like they aren't paying attention. They may act as if they can't see or hear other people. Some may rock their bodies back and forth or flick their fingers or do other things which seem different. It's not easy for children with Autism to make friends, because they may act differently. But everybody Is different.! That's what makes being friends with other kids more fun. You can learn a lot from each other.

Yes, there may be boys or girls with Autism at your school or even in your classroom. Children with Autism and other disabilities go to school to learn math and reading, just like you do. Our brain controls our behavior by making connections, like lots of different extension cords going to lots of different outlets. If some of the extension cords don't get plugged in, our behavior is different. In people with Autism, some of the extension cords which help them learn how to make friends easily don't get plugged in, so knowing how to be a good friend doesn't always come naturally to an individual with Autism, like it does to most children. People with Autism didn't choose to have a difference in their brain. It just happened that way and they can't make it go away, just like you can't change the color of your eyes. The difference in the brain of an individual with Autism doesn't "Jump" from one person to another, so there is no need to worry about "catching" Autism from someone. Children who have Autism can be helped to grow up just like other kids. They have feelings and they care for others. Some people with Autism can grow up to have many jobs like everyone else, like a computer operator, an artist, etc.

In the Piano Independent School District, there are approximately 60 students with Autism, and in the United States, approximately one of every 500 individuals has Autism. But people all over the world have Autism, too. More boys than girls have Autism, and they can be rich or poor and any race or religion. There is no known cure for Autism.

For More Information, 
Please Contact:        ASCC - Autism Society of Collin County 
                       4909 West Park Boulevard, Suite 108
                       Plano, TX 75093 
                    
                       Voice Mail 214/925-2722 
                       Fax 972/379-3787