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There are many diseases and disorders that plague today’s society, but one of the most serious of those disorders is autism. Autism is not nearly as widely known as the familiar Down’s Syndrome, yet, surprisingly, autism is far more widespread. In fact, autism is the third most common developmental disability, affecting 400,000 people worldwide (Autism Society of America). Autism is “a syndrome of childhood characterized by a lack of social relationship, a lack of communication abilities, persistent compulsive, rituals, and resistance to change” (Paluszny 1). For centuries, medical professionals have tried to understand autism and its origin. Autism is a developmental disability, not a mental illness, that typically appears during the first three years of life and affects 15 of every 10,000 individuals. No one is certain why it occurs, but researchers have found that MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans of people with autism show abnormalities in the structure of the brain. Significant abnormalities include differences in the cerebellum and in the size and number of Purkinje cells within the brain. Sometimes there is a pattern that exists within families from generation to generation. This indic