World Within Our Own

Carolyn Van Houten

UNC Chapel Hill

"Things that wouldn't bother us might set him off completely," says Erin O'Loughlin of her son Marcus, 8, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. "A lot of it is because of overstimulation and sensory issues. So we wind up looking for what makes him happy and what makes him tick, what's good for his reality and his world, and then we foster that."

Autism is a developmental disorder that is usually diagnosed in the first three years of a childís life. It affects the neurological development of social and communication skills. There are various types of autism diagnoses, which are placed on a spectrum. It is still unknown whether the development of autism is related to genetics or prenatal and early childhood environments.