Topic 1: Summary

Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can cause social, communication, and behavioral challenges for those who have it.

ASD affects 1 in every 68 children in the United States, although reported rates vary widely. ASD can affect everyone, regardless of factors like race, class, culture, and nationality.

ASD is a spectrum disorder, which means it can present in a variety of different ways in a variety of different people. Because ASD's presentation is different in everyone, the level of support someone with ASD needs is different for every person too. This also means that every person with ASD responds differently to treatment. Stephen Shore's famous saying "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism" sums up the nature of a spectrum disorder.

Other neurodevelopmental disorders include ADHD and intellectual disabilities. Like all neurodevelopmental disorders, ASD has an early onset, usually before a child enters grade school, and probably while a child is still in utero. Neurodevelopmental disorders often co-occur, so someone with ASD is also often diagnosed with another disorder.

While no one knows the definitive causes of autism, research shows that genetic and environmental factors can increase a person's risk for ASD. While bad parenting and vaccines were once believed to cause ASD, research has proven both of these to be myths.

In the next module, you'll learn about the signs and symptoms of autism and how someone is diagnosed with ASD.