AUGUSTA -- As Katie Crowley described some characteristics of children with autism, dozens of people in the room nodded their heads. They had all seen the signs and symptoms of the pervasive development disorder in their classrooms and in their homes.

Crowley, an information specialist with the Autism Society of Maine, offered a primer on the disorder Saturday afternoon in an "Autism 101" workshop.

The session was part of the 4th annual Maine Autism Resource Fair held at the Augusta Civic Center. Autism is a spectrum disorder affecting people differently and includes autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder and pervasive developmental disorder.

All those who attended the fair walked past 1,990 tiny flags of blue, yellow, purple, green and red populating a lawn in front of the building. Each flag symbolized a Mainer between the ages of 3 and 20 who has autism. The numbers are based on estimates from the Maine Department of Education.

Hundreds of people -- educators, parents, therapists and others -- listened to Vincent J. Carbone of New York's Carbone Clinic discuss "The Benefits of a Language-based Approach in Programs for Teaching Children with Autism."

Carbone, who bases his behavioral approach on work pioneered by B.F. Skinner, said one of the most effective forms of treatment for autism is based on applied behavior analytic principles.

Carbone said this emphasizes precise organization of learning environment, early intervention, frequent daily training sessions, teaching speaker and listener behavior and using discrete trial training methods.

Doug McIntosh of Augusta came to the session with his wife and their granddaughter, Sabrina, 6. The McIntoshes were looking for different ways to get help for Sabrina, who has some symptoms of autism, and for themselves, he said.

On Saturday Sabrina left the civic center with a bright green toy bucket and a big smile and said she was about to visit a horse farm. Her grandmother remained in the workshops.

Crowley's class, conducted in the afternoon, brought Carbone's lesson home. She described the developmental effects of autism that can manifest in poor motor skills, poor communication skills, and poor social and emotional development.

"Together, all these things can create behavioral issues," she said.

Autism disorder affects one in every 150 births, is four times more prevalent in boys than in girls, and is a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain, she said.

Crowley listed some of the 20 or more traits that may indicate autism:

* difficulty interacting with other children;

* insistence on sameness;

* inappropriate laughing and giggling;

* no real fear of danger;

* little or no eye contact;

* unresponsiveness to normal teaching;

* odd playing; and

* apparent insensitivity to pain, etc.

Crowley told the audience that there is no medical test for autism, and a cause has yet to be identified. "There's lots and lots that we do not know about autism," she said. A brochure from the autism society says, "Current research links it to biological and neurological differences in the brain."

A child must be observed by a team of skilled professionals who can check for a range of autism characteristics before making a diagnosis, Crowley said.

She asked the educators in the audience: "Do you think the children are choosing to misbehave?" And they shook their heads, with a definite "No."

Crowley proved some communication strategies:

* Speak in short sentences.

* Only ask one question at a time.

* Wait 40 to 60 seconds for a response.

* Use concrete language.

More information about autism is available at www.asmonline.org and www.autism-society.org.

Betty Adams -- 621-5631

badams@centralmaine.com