Introduction to Autism Online Tutorial
	Module 1: What is Autism? Characteristics of autism that are common to many individuals on the autism spectrum will fall into the following categories: Difficulties with social skills and social interaction. Some children with autism may appear aloof or uninterested in traditional social interactions. They may not seek out social attention in typical ways such as asking questions, initiating conversation, or joint attention (“Look what I made!” or “Watch me!”). Children with autism may be described as being “in their own world.” Other children with autism may be more interested in people socially, but have difficulty knowing how to communicate and interact with others successfully in terms of "unspoken" social rules. Difficulties using language and communication. According to some estimates, as many as 50% of children with autism will not develop functional speech (without specific intervention). Some of these children with autism will have speech but it is not used functionally (for communication or social interaction). It may be repeating sounds or phrases from TV shows that the child enjoys hearing, without having a purpose of communicating something to another person. People with autism who do have functional speech may still struggle with the pragmatic and social use of language, and may be perceived as having speech with an odd tone of voice or odd phrasing. Next --> Characteristics of Autism, Continued