Learning with Disabilities

Learning Despite Being Autistic

To have a child diagnosed with autism is not what it used to be. The world is paying more attention to the term autism. The world is looking for a cure for autism while making developments in managing this disorder. A life being sheltered, picked on, or bullied is not the life of autistic children today. Today, children are learning despite being autistic.

Autism is a general term used to describe multiple mental disorders with certain characteristics. The clinical definition of autism states it as a condition where a person is self-centered or self-absorbed and is not in touch with reality (Oxford English Dictionary, 2010). The word autism is used as a general term because even with these characteristics, no two people with autism are the same. Each person will handle information in their brain differently from other people along with each other (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). That brings us to the term autistic spectrum disorder. This term is used to cover all aspects of the disorder because no two people with this disorder are the same and on top of that, their symptoms and behaviors can range from mild to severe (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).

Parents always tend to think they are to blame when their children are born with a disability or a disorder. This was especially true for the parents of autistic children because according to Dr. Leo Kanner, back in 1943, autism was originally said to have been caused by “cold, unloving mothers” (Autism Speaks, 2010). It was not until two decades later when Dr. Bernard Rimland helped everyone to understand that autism is not caused by unloving mothers, and in fact, is a disorder that children are born with (Autism Speaks, 2010).

There currently are no tests to diagnose autism, like a blood test, so children will go through a screening process. They will be evaluated on their behavior through observation (Autism Society of America, 2010)....