9781422280324

Chapter One

Developmental Disabilities

I magine living in a world where noises are too loud, lights shine too brightly, and people behave in ways you can’t understand, no matter how hard you try. You might feel like you’re in a foreign country. Bombarded by customs and conversations that don’t make any sense, you might feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or anxious a lot of the time. You would probably feel different from everyone around you. You might prefer being alone in your room to going out. Alone, you wouldn’t feel different or confused. For someone with a developmental disability , this is not an imaginary scenario. Autism is probably the best-known developmental disability—you may know someone who lives with it, or you might have it yourself. Other developmental disabilities include dyslexia and Down syndrome. We’ll talk more about these and other conditions later in this chapter.

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