All About Autism

Recently I was researching autism statistics in Canada and came across a catch-all website called Love To Know. Along with a myriad of other topics, the site has a great collection of reference material about autism and autism related issues. In particular I would like to recommend the Diagnosing Autism section for those parents concerned about their child. I can imagine that at times a parent may question their child's atypical behavior and wonder if it's "normal" so to speak. Sometimes a parent may have an inkling that their child might be displaying a typical autism behavior. If you arm yourself with autism terms or lingo, then this information can be a helpful tool when communicating with teachers or medical professionals. For instance, as a young mother, I didn't know that tip toe walking was a trait of autism. Before my son's diagnosis, not one therapist thought to ask or noted my son's peculiar walk. I thought my son's style of walking was just part of his unique offbeat nature. He would grow out of it, right? Twenty years ago I studied Child Psychology, but back then the information about autism gave only examples of the two extremes of the spectrum. I read about the autism trait of hand flapping but my son didn't display this behavior. He did, however, hold objects close to his ear and scratch them. As a child my son loved it when his Nana showed him how to hear the ocean in a conch shell! Now that my son is a young man I can ask him about his old autism behaviors. He says that he liked to scratch things because it was relaxing to concentrate on the sound. He says that he walked on his tip toes because it felt better to be taller!

So, if there's things you need to know then check the link below for more info.
If you know of any other great autism sites then add them by way of a comment below this post.

http://autism.lovetoknow.com/Main_Page