As the parent of two young children with the Autism Spectrum
Disorder, I have learned a lot since the initial diagnosis with my
son. Like most people, Autism used to mean that people affected by it
lived in their own world. In my mind, I used to associate the picture
of "Rain Man" with ASD. Now, I now a lot more, thank God.
Nowadays, when I mention the word "Autism" to others, the main
questions that people tend to ask are: "What is Autism? Is it a
disease? Will it get better? Isn't it when people rock and are
mentally challenged? Aren't they in their own world?" Some of these
questions are on the right path while others can be downright
offensive and/or plain wrong.
In fact, I even heard of people avoiding being near people with
Autism simply because they thought it could be an infectious disease.
Well, they could not be more wrong.
A disease is based either on a viral or bacterial infection, on the
malfunctioning of body organs or even radiations. Its source is often
exterior or eventually appears on its own as for ASD it is quite
different. A disorder such as the Autism Spectrum Disorder is in fact
a genetic condition that is part of the DNA of the individual as soon
as the egg and the sperm cell became one, creating a new life....

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/autismnvc