II. Autism refers to a range of conditions challenging with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication. There is not one autism but many types and is caused by different combinations of genetic and environmental influences. It tends to appear between two and three years of age, but some parents don’t notice the signs until later. On April 21, 2015, a study of more than 95,000 children found no link between vaccines and autism. The study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human
