Manifestations of Autism Interpersonal Disorders Children with autism often feel particularly isolated, lack interaction with people, and lack emotional connection, such as newborns not being held close to their mothers when picked up; no difference in response when picked up by relatives or others at 7-8 months of age; children are indifferent to the return and departure of their parents and have no attachment; they do not feel fearful of relatives as they do of living people, and they do not feel fearful when they are with strangers. These children lack eye-to-eye gaze and often avoid looking at each other, and lack emotional communication with those around them. The child often insists on repeating stereotyped patterns of play and life activities, resisting changes and lacking imagination, such as repeatedly lining up toys; not changing the position of sitting; not changing the place where things are placed; and keeping the order of life content as it is. Stubbornly staying the same as before is one of the important symptoms of autism. Attachment to certain special objects Children with autism usually develop a special interest in certain objects, such as blocks, radios, balls, etc., to the point of attachment. They can’t get enough of these objects and feel satisfied in playing with them, and if they are taken away, they will cry and panic. The child rarely participates in the play of other children, but is happy to play alone and often enjoys himself. Sensory perception disorder The child is unresponsive to auditory and visual stimuli, as if he/she is “blind” or “deaf”. The child may not seem to see people or other figures in the environment, and may ignore their speech. Most children with autism have moderate to severe mental retardation, but their social adjustment ability is significantly impaired and they cannot take care of themselves. Very few children with autism show special abilities in music, computers and mechanical memory, and very few may have insular precociousness or idiosyncratic functions, known as “idiot scholars”. Some children may have seizures. Language development disorder is one of the most prominent manifestations of this disorder. Children with this disorder generally have a gradual decrease in language, or in severe cases, a complete lack of it. The child’s ability to understand language is low, and abnormal language such as stereotypes, repetition, imitation, and misuse of pronouns (especially the use of “you” instead of “I” when referring to oneself) is often present. The child lacks abstract concepts, and the thought process tends to be obsessive, limited, and impoverished, lacking fantasy and imagination. The child does not use facial expressions, body movements, postures and tones to interact with others.