What is autism?

I get this question quite often. What is autism? According to Wikipedia, autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, verbal and non verbal communication and restricted and repetitive behavior. To me, that definition is pretty right on. Autism is hard to understand for some people because no one child on the spectrum is the same. Having 2 on the spectrum, I see the large difference. The spectrum is large, and each child has different abilities or lack of. A way to explain it is to compare their brain with a computer. If you download every program, your computer will shut down. I think that is what happens to their brain....just too much going in. Those on the autism spectrum are very smart....each one in a different area.
Second most asked question: Was vaccines the cause? This is a hot topic. For us, the answer is no, they did not. Can everyone say that? Unfortunately, no. I know several people who have had children with reactions after a vaccine. So, yes, vaccines can cause damage for some. I believe each family has to make their own decision on vaccines. I believe that children get too many at one time. I believe they should be spaced out more.
For us, I think some of this is hereditary since we have 2. Could be from their birth mom as she had mental issues but who knows. We just move on. Our goal is to be sure Thomas is happy. I believe we are doing that. He is mild mannered. We do not have violence issues like some families do. For that, we are blessed. He loves people, and holding hands.
I am glad autism is getting attention now. I don't want people to be afraid of him, or thinking they can't approach him. Please do. Talk to him like you would any other person. He won't answer you in words but will in other ways. He is very smart, and knows what is going on around him....more than you realize.