Autism is in a class of developmental disorders known as autism spectrum disorders. (ASDs) Other autism spectrum disorders are Rett syndrome,Aspergers syndrome, childhood disintegrateive disorder and pervasive developmental disorder. Autism is characterized by problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, impaired social interation and unusual repetitive or severly limited activities and interests. Three to six children out of 1,000 will have autism. Boys are four times more likely to have autism than girls. The number of children diagnosed with Autism has risen greatly over the past few decades. Some people think environmental factors, vaccines and or toxin buld up in the boyd contributes to the problem. New from pediatricians this week is to have your child screened for Autism twice between the ages of 18 - 24 months.