Autism to me

Rage, OCD habits and were things I never saw in my best friend Mariah. I knew she was autistic but I didn't really know what it meant.

I knew Mariah, my autistic friend, couldn't give me a straight answer. I knew she couldn't hold a real conversation but I didn't know the extent of her problem until I talked to my mother about it. Hannah wet the bed, she became very moody and angry with her family. Scars riddled her body where she would pick at her skin for no reason and sometimes she would smear her own feces all over the wall.

I never saw any of this. I once spent a whole week at camp with her. She also stayed at my house on several occasions. She was also capable of practically taking care of herself. She wasn't retarded, as many of my friends assumed she was.

Although it later became apparent that she had these disabilities, I knew she wasn't mentally challenged or as some of the kids would call her, retarded.

While autistic children tend to have communication and learning disabilities, each case is unique. A child with autism isn't the same as a child with retardation. My experience with autism has shown me that it is the inability of a child to focus on things that fully functioning people consider important.

So often autistic children are focused on insignificant details and tend to have a hard time making decisions about practical matters. Many times autism is identified by the age of three. The most defining sign is the child won't make eye contact with people. According to www.autism-society.org, symptoms of autism are these:

Lack of or delay in spoken language
Repetitive use of language and/or motor mannerisms (e.g., hand-flapping, twirling objects)
Little or no eye contact
Lack of interest in peer relationships
Lack of spontaneous or make-believe play
Persistent fixation on parts of objects

But with their communication and focusing difficulties there is still room for a good deal of improvement. A lot of autistic children, with help, can come out of their shell.

When I first met Mariah she never talked, she never participated and she couldn't make up her mind. After spending countless hours with her, I saw drastic changes. She would dance at dances, go off and do things adeptly on her own and she even told me to shut up when I got on her nerves.

Each case of autism is very unique. There are exceptions to the things on the list above. Their disabilities and their abilities differ significantly in each autistic child.

I worked with a girl in high school who also had autism but her attitude was far different from that of Mariah's. My friends brother has autism and is able to attend college. Many people consider autism a form of retardation but really it is much different.