Definition+of+Autism

﻿-By definition according to the IDEA handout that was given to us at the beginning of the semester, Autism means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance. Other characteristics often associated with autism are engagement in repetivitve activities and stereotyped movements, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines, and unusual responses to sensory experiences. It does not apply if a child's educational performance is adversely affected primarily because the child has an emotional disturbance, as defined in paragraph (c)(4) of the IDEA handout.