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Autism is a lifelong, developmental disorder which occurs
in childhood and which is marked by difficulties in communication, social
interaction, lack of imagination
or inflexibility of thought.
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Most
people with autism also have a degree of learning difficulty, but some people
can be extremely able.
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Very little is known about the causes of autism but it
seems to occur more often in males than females.
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Overall, it is estimated that in the UK six people in one thousand are
autistic.1 |
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Because both deafness and autism can have some shared
characteristics, in relation to difficulties with communication and interaction,
it is often difficult to accurately diagnose autism in a person who is deaf.
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Hayfield is working in conjunction with the Scottish
Society on Autism towards developing appropriate and effective services to meet
the very specific needs of deaf people who are autistic. Care staff have been trained in Autism Awareness and Hayfield
is the only facility in Scotland which looks at providing specialist support to
people who have this dual condition.
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