One of my nephews, and he is quite brilliant! He will engage people in conversation,and years later,he will recall every topic that was talked about, names and all!
Yes. A couple family members, and several families in our church who have autistic children. Our church has a very active special needs program. For autistic spectrum disorder children, we have shadows and also do extra training with any teachers who have autistic children in their Sunday School classes. We also assist several other special needs families.
As a Special Olympics volunteer, I work with many athletes who have Autism. Some of them are high-functioning. They can live on their own, drive a car, and hold down a job. Others can't take care of themselves and they don't even know what's going on.
my grandmother doesn't have autism (at least thats what the doctor says) but she sure as hell acts like she does! she repeats everything she says and its annoying.
It is very sad and difficult condition, and my heart goes out to every member of the family even if only one relative has it. The have a hard, and often frustrating, road to travel.