Early intervention is crucial for the well-being of children with autism and yet, say the parents of a Huddersfield four-year-old who has the condition, too many slip through the net. HILARIE STELFOX reports
AUTISM is a condition that affects how people relate to the world around them.
It is a spectrum condition, which means that it affects some people more severely than others.
While some people with autism have a gift or ‘savant’ this is relatively rare.
People with Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism, however, tend to be of average or above-average intelligence.
According to the National Autistic Society as many as one in 100 people in the UK have some form of autism.
The causes of autism have not been established, but it is thought there may be a genetic link.
Although there were claims that some children had been affected by the MMR vaccination the society says: “the weight of epidemiological evidence indicates that there is no statistically significant link between the MMR vaccine and autism.”
