Autism

Autism is one of five classified pervasive developmental disorders. Asperger's syndrome is another. Approximately 6 in 1000 people are somewhere on the autism spectrum. Children are generally diagnosed as toddlers. The most noticeable signs of Autism are late-developing use of language or a complete lack of language development, repetitive use of words or repetitive hand movements, little to no eye contact, lack of interest in peer relationships, lack of spontaneous or make-believe play, and a persistent fixation on parts of objects.

Signs of Asperger's syndrome are difficulty reciprocating during conversations, i.e., those with Asperger's see "their turn to talk" as seemingly never-ending. My cousin fails to grasp the pragmatic aspect of a conversation. She will share endless facts with me, because she sees talking as a method of communicating information only, not sharing thoughts, emotions, or feelings. She displays difficulties with topic appropriateness, and knowing when to end the conversation. Her vocal pitch and stress is frequently different from people with normal conversational capabilities. I have learned to live with the fact that she can not "tone down" her voice.