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The Movie Rain Man

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In 1998, the movie Rain Man, starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, hit movie theaters and became a major hit. On opening weekend, the movie earned $7 million and eventually earned over $354 million worldwide. The character played by Dustin Hoffman was an autistic savant. For many people, this was their first introduction to autism. The public awareness this movie gave to autism did much to dispel many incorrect ideas about those who are affected by autism. Autism disorder, a developmental disorder which causes persistent problems with social communications and interactions, interferes with the ability children and adults have in controlling behavior and completing tasks or activities in the same way as those who are not affected. Diagnosis …show more content…

“Autism now affects one in every one-hundred fifty children in the United States.” (“Learning”). This disease can affect any individual, and it is not determined by any particular ethnic, racial, or social background. The word Autism was first used in 1908 by a psychiatrist named Eugen Bleular. He first used it to describe one of his schizophrenic patients. The patient had withdrawn into his own world and Bleular was concerned. He began to research and found that the greek word “autos” means self. Bleular used the word “autism” to mean morbid self-admiration and withdrawn within self (Mandal). In 1943 an American Child physiatrist named Leo Kanner studied two children. These children had many different features of difficulties, including social interactions, difficulty in adapting changes in everyday routines, sensitivity to sounds, allergies, and spontaneous activities. They also had problems with repeating words of the speaker and a hard time focusing. Although he had studied this during the 1940’s, in the 1970s autism came better known. The Erica Foundation started therapies and education for psychic children in the 80’s …show more content…

Autism currently affects one in every one hundred and fifty children in the United States. Statistics show that autism is four time more common in boys than girls. It affects one in sixity-eight children and one in forty-two boys. This disease could be very costly for a family, on average it could cost 60,000 dollars a year. Symptoms Autism has a variety of symptoms throughout the process. Therefor, “Because there can be overlap in symptoms between ASD and other disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) it's important that treatment focus on a person’s specific needs rather than the diagnostic label” (“What are”). Having problems with social relationships, are more harmful for people with autism. People diagnosed with ADHD mostly have problems with their behaviors, while the other half battles through inattention and hyperactivity. Although autism is present at birth, signs can most likely be difficult during the process. Social interactions prevent problems with eye to eye gazing and facial expressions. Also lack of empathy, gives misunderstanding to other people's feelings. While looking back today, more than 40% of people that have autism do not speak, effects not having friendships with children their same age. All people with autism have many different symptoms that they have to

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