According to our textbook, Educational Psychology by John Santrock, Autism

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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According to our textbook, Educational Psychology by John Santrock, Autism is an often-severe developmental disorder with an onset in infancy that includes deficiencies in social relationships, abnormalities in communication, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior. To start to understand this disorder I had to break down the definition provided by our text book into simpler terms. In the paragraphs to follow I will break down the text book definition of autism, as well as, provide examples of noticeable behavior of an Autistic child. I will also discuss the difficult challenges a teacher may face when teaching a child with this disorder. This paper will equally address how to help the parents of a recently discovered Autistic child gain an understanding of the disorder. I will also address my concerns and goals when I am presented with an Autistic child in my life.

There are a several parts to the Autism definition provided by the textbook.

I found myself having to scratch deeper into the surface of the definition to get a better grasp of what Autism is. Autism can be a severely handicapping disorder for some children. Some Autistic individuals are wheel chair bound and have very poor, if any communication skills. While others are able to function in the world that surrounds them even getting great jobs, as long as, employers are open minded and embrace diversity. For those that are able to function in society it is with a lot of hard work and determination. Many Autistic individuals overcome sensory problems, auditory problems, or tactile problems to name a few obstacles of this disorder. It is hard to image how handicapping it is for individuals that have sensory problems. You can observe sensory problems by watching the way children react or do not react to their...