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Informative Speech On Autism Paper

Decent Essays

You’re sitting in the waiting room; hands folded neatly in your lap, your foot tapping the ground on beat with the tick of the clock. Your husband is sitting beside you, his head in his hands. You watch other people come in and out of the room as you continue waiting. Your heart is beating out of your chest. What will the news be? Will you be able to handle it? The door opens and your doctor walks out. He calls you into a back room to talk. You and your husband squeeze each others’ hand. He looks over the charts on his clipboard. You attempt to read his facial expressions, but you can’t. Finally he looks up. You take a deep breath, preparing yourself for the news. The doctor calmly breaks it to you; your two year old son has autism. You …show more content…

When an affected child is around two to three years old, obvious signs of autism begin to appear (What is Autism?). Autism diagnosis requires symptoms from each of three categories. Most children with autism have abnormal social interaction. They may lack eye contact with others, fail to seek comfort, and not understand how to behave in social situations (Rodier). Because of this, affected children may feel lonely and not have many friends, as they don’t know how to act around their peers. The second category of symptoms is abnormal communication. Most children with autism have late language development and some never speak at all. If children are fluent speakers, they may talk endlessly about one topic. Affected people often use and take words in a very literal way (Rodier). Because of their abnormal communication, autistic children may have trouble participating in classroom settings. Later in life, they can have difficulties finding work. The third category used to diagnose autism is restricted and repetitive interests and behaviors. Many children with autism appear to have only one interest and they spend their time devoted to that interest. Many also have repetitive movements such as rocking back and forth and flapping their hands. “Children with autism often insist on sameness. They become distressed by changes in their environment or routine,” (Rodier). Other symptoms may include unprovoked tantrums and insensitivity to pain. Another common symptom is seizures, which one out of every four autistic children develops (Autism). All of these traits are common symptoms of autism which differ them from ‘normal’

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