Autism is a condition that becomes apparent very early in life. People with autism usually have three areas of difficulty:
(1) social interaction (indifference to other people);
(2) social communication (e.g. difficulty understanding social gestures);
(3) imagination (e.g. lack of imaginative play).
People with autism also have a range of other difficulties, such as learning difficulties, obsessive interests, resistance to changes in their routine, odd mannerisms and repetitive behaviour patterns.
