manyththirsympm is that, mchdren with ausm respond to a limit number of sti. some may sit and stare for hours, rocking back a forth endlessly. some prefer a rigid sameness in their activities and dospd well chaesn thr ves. it is the hallma of autm at allhese types of symptompear verearly, ofwithin the first 3o months, d theyay range from mild to sever mostxperts agree that what's common to all people with autism is that the disorder is organic. anne donnellan has written about and researched autism extensively. autism is a tremendous deficit, a profound deficit in t-way social interaction and communication. there probly isn't anything more pround as a deficit because most of us come neurologically hot-wired as infants to learn about social information through our parents or pson in thearenting role. and that early interaction, that tuning, that wonderful dance that goes on between the parent and the child, teaches the child esselly everything they need to know about being socially competent in a particular culture. somehow these kids seem unable to do that, an