Fact: Though some think autism is an emotional or mentalhealth disorder, it is actually a neurodevelopmental disorder with ramificationsfor social behavior and communication. The person with autism interacts withher or her world via restricted and repetitive rituals. Fact: Autism is not one set of symptoms; rather it is avariety of syndromes. It is called “autism spectrumdisorder,” because its range of symptoms is so diverse.Fact: Though autism diagnoses are on the rise (the CDCreports that one out of 150 children have an autism spectrum disorder) expertsquestion whether this rising number is due to more cases or instead because ofearlier diagnosis, more awareness, and a broadening of the spectrum itself (awider definition).