autism. asd for autism spectrum disorder is, by definition, a wide array of behaviors. but mild, more severe, the two core symptoms are social communication challenges, one-third are non-verbal, and, second, restrictive or repetitive behaviors, like rocking, flapping, even hitting. let s take a drink. particularly challenging for the zblartlers, kara is part of the 25% of children with asd who are aggressive. throwing objects, intentionally breaking things, hitting people, including themselves. making life unimaginably challenging for kara and her parents. but life has never been easy for kara. i went and did the blood tests. my levels were high and they said, oh, you re pregnant. after years of battling infertility, christie was pregnant with twins.