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Recognizing Autism Spectrum or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Symptoms, Signs and Characteristics Individuals on the autism spectrum will have symptoms from a very young age, beginning before the age of three. Some autistic children show hints of future challenges within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms [...]
Autism Facts Quick Start New visitor? Please check out "Understanding Autism, A Few Quick Notes." This Autism Quick-Start section is meant to provide a quick introduction to basic autism facts written in conversational language. Autism is a Developmental Disability: Autism is considered a developmental disability and neurological [...]
Amazing Autistic Women Whether they call themselves Autistic, on the autism spectrum or simply (insert their name here), here is a robust list of accomplished autistic women and nonbinary people who are making positive change in this world. It has been the experience of many autistic mothers that their Autism [...]
What are Pervasive Developmental Disorders / PDD / PDD-NOS? The diagnostic category of pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) refers to a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of socialization and communication skills. Parents may note symptoms as early as infancy, although the typical age of onset is [...]
What is Rett syndrome Rett syndrome is a postnatal neurodevelopmental disorder that affects girls almost exclusively and is first noticed in infancy. It is characterized by normal early growth and development followed by a slowing of development, loss of purposeful use of the hands, distinctive hand movements, slowed brain [...]
What is Asperger syndrome? Asperger or Asperger's syndrome (AS) is a developmental autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The discovery of Asperger Syndrome (AS) dates back to 1944. Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger described the syndrome when he was treating four boys with similar symptoms. His writings remained relatively unknown until 1981 [...]
Understanding Autism The amount of information available online about autism is often overwhelming to sift and filter through. We aim to provide support with that process by curating content that is enriching, empowering, inspiring, engaging and meaningful. At Autism Empowerment, one of our key goals is to provide meaningful [...]
Acronym Directory An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word. Alphabet soup is often used as a metaphor for an abundance of acronyms or abbreviations. When it comes to the autism, disability and special education community at large, we [...]
Getting an Autism Spectrum Diagnosis / The Diagnostic Process Autism varies widely in severity and as it is a spectrum disorder, it will present differently from one person to another and from male to female. Signs and symptoms may go unrecognized, especially if they initially appear as mild or [...]
Karen Krejcha Bio Karen serves as Executive Director and Co-Founder of Autism Empowerment and also as the Board President. She is Editor of Spectrum Life Magazine and the host of the Autism Empowerment Podcast. Karen considers Autism Empowerment her calling and passion. She [...]
Coexisting Conditions Individuals affected by autism are at an increased risk of experiencing additional cognitive, emotional, or behavioral disorders. It is very common for individuals on the autism spectrum to be dealing with other challenges and coexisting conditions. Sometimes these co-existing conditions are noticed and diagnosed before the diagnosis [...]
How is Autism Treated? It is important to remember first that autism is on a spectrum. As such, there is no one size-fits-all autism treatment, therapy, intervention or coping strategy. There are many therapies for autism and as you do your research you will see that there is also [...]