What is Autism
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What is autism?
Autism is a neurological difference that impacts how individuals process and respond to information, communication, and experiences. In the UK, an estimated 700,000 people, or about 1% of the population, are autistic. Every autistic person is different so it’s important to recognise and respect the diverse ways in which neurodivergent individuals communicate and interact with the world around them.
Being autistic
Autism is a spectrum condition that affects people differently. Autistic people, like everyone else, have their own set of strengths and weaknesses. The following is a list of difficulties that autistic people may experience, including the two major difficulties required for a diagnosis.
Social Communication and Social Interaction Challenges
Social communication
Autistic people have difficulty understanding both verbal and nonverbal language, such as gestures or tone of voice. Some autistic people cannot speak or have limited speech, whereas others have excellent language skills but struggle to understand sarcasm or tone of voice. Other difficulties include:
- taking things literally and struggling to understand abstract concepts
- needing additional time to process information or respond to questions
- repetition of what others have said to them (this is called echolalia)
- interaction with others
Autistic people frequently struggle with ‘reading’ other people – recognising or understanding others’ feelings and intentions – as well as expressing their own emotions. This can make navigating the social world extremely difficult. Autistic individuals may:
- appear to be insensitive or apathetic
- seek out time alone when overloaded by other people
- not seeking comfort from others
- appear to behave ‘strangely’ or in a socially inappropriate manner
- find it difficult to make friends
Repetitive and Restrictive Behaviour
With its unwritten rules, the world can appear to be a very unpredictable and confusing place to autistic people. This is why they often prefer routines so that they know what will happen. They may want to travel the same route to and from school or work, wear the same clothes, or eat the same breakfast every day.
Autistic people may also repeat movements such as flapping their hands, rocking, or using an object repeatedly, such as twirling a pen or opening and closing a door. Autistic people frequently engage in these behaviours to help them relax when they are stressed or anxious, but many autistic people engage in them because they enjoy them.
Changes in routine can be very distressing and anxious for autistic people. It could be having to adjust to major events like Christmas or changing schools, dealing with uncertainty at work, or something as simple as a bus detour that causes them anxiety.
Over- or under-sensitive to light, sound, taste or touch
Autistic people may be overly or underly sensitive to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light, colours, temperatures, or pain. For example, they may find certain background sounds, such as music in a restaurant, unbearably loud or distracting that other people ignore or block out. This can result in anxiety or even physical pain. Many autistic people avoid hugging due to discomfort, which can be misinterpreted as cold and aloof.
Because of their sensitivity issues, many autistic people avoid everyday situations. Schools, workplaces, and shopping centres can be especially stressful and cause sensory overload. Many simple improvements can be made to make environments more autism-friendly.
Highly focused interests or hobbies
Many autistic people develop intense and narrowly focused interests at a young age. These can change over time or be permanent. Autistic people can become experts in their areas of interest and enjoy sharing their knowledge. Trains are a stereotypical example, but they are only one of many. Greta Thunberg, for example, is deeply committed to environmental protection.
Autistic people, like all people, attain enormous pleasure from pursuing their interests and regard them as essential to their well-being and happiness.
Many autistic people benefit from being highly focused academically and in the workplace, but they can also become so engrossed in particular topics or activities that they neglect other aspects of their lives.
Extreme anxiety
Many autistic adults struggle with anxiety, especially in social situations or when faced with change. It can have a psychological and physical impact on a person and have an impact on the quality of life for autistic people and their families.
It is important that autistic people learn to recognise their triggers and develop coping methods to help them find a way to deal with their anxiety. However, many autistic people struggle to recognise and regulate their emotions. Over one-third of autistic people have serious mental health issues, and mental health services fail far too many of them.
Meltdowns and shutdowns
When everything becomes too much for an autistic person, they can have a meltdown or shut down. These are intense and exhausting experiences.
When someone becomes completely overwhelmed by their current situation, they have a meltdown and temporarily lose behavioural control. This loss of control can be either verbal (such as shouting, screaming, or crying) or physical (such as kicking, lashing out, or biting) or both. Children’s meltdowns are frequently mistaken as temper tantrums, and parents and their autistic children are frequently subjected to hurtful remarks and judgmental stares from less understanding members of the public.
A shutdown appears less severe to the outside world, but it can be just as debilitating. Shutdowns are also a reaction to being overwhelmed, but they may appear more passive, such as an autistic person going quiet or ‘switching off.’ One autistic woman described a shutdown as ‘just as frustrating as a meltdown, because of not being able to figure out how to react how I want to, or not being able to react at all; there isn’t any ‘figuring out’ because the mind feels like it is past a state of being able to interpret.’
Ever-changing definition
The definition of autism has evolved over the decades and may change in the future as we learn more. Some feel that the spectrum is too broad, arguing that an autistic person who requires 24/7 support cannot be compared to someone who finds supermarket lights too bright. We frequently find that autistic people and their families with varying support needs face many of the same challenges, such as receiving proper support from mental health, education, and social care services or being misunderstood by those close to them. We will continue to fight to make society more accommodating to autistic people.
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