What is autism?
Autism is also known as autistic spectrum disorder or ASD. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder (related to the development of the brain). It is estimated that 1 in 100 people have autism. However, other surveys suggest that the prevalence may be higher.
Autism is characterised by difficulty with social interaction and communication. There are usually patterns of behaviour which are not typical of other people. For example, people with autism may find it difficult to shift from one activity to another, they may focus on details, and they may have unusual reactions to sensations, such as textures. The characteristics of autism may be detected in early childhood. However, many autistic people do not receive a diagnosis until later in life.
Social communication
Autistic people may have problems with interpreting, verbal and non-verbal language. Understanding other peoples gestures and their tone of voice may present difficulties. Language skills can differ significantly across the population of autistic people. Some autistic people are unable to speak (Sometimes referred to as non-verbal autism), or have limited speech. Other autistic people may have good language skills, but struggle to navigate particular characteristics of speech, such as the tone of voice and the use of sarcasm and innuendo.
Autistic people may take things literally. In other words, thinking maybe concrete or “black and white”. It can be difficult for autistic people to understand abstract concepts. Processing time may also be increased. An autistic person may need more time to be able to process information and to answer questions. Some autistic people may repeat what others say to them. However, this does not affect every autistic person.
Social interaction
As well as the difficulties, with social communication, autistic people can find relationships and interactions with others more difficult. It may be difficult to “read” other people. It may be difficult to recognise and understand how other people are feeling. It may be difficult to understand the intentions of others. For example, autistic people may find it difficult to understand social cues. These difficulties sometimes lead to others, misunderstanding, autistic people as being insensitive, strange, or socially inappropriate. This can make it difficult for autistic people to form friendships. It can also make it more difficult for autistic people to find an intimate partner, or companion. Even if social interaction is not difficult in other areas of life, intimacy itself can be difficult to tolerate, particularly if there are associated sensory sensitivities.
Repetitive behaviours
The third characteristic of the triad of autism is repetitive and restrictive behaviour. Repetitive and restrictive behaviours may not always be obvious. Some autistic people exhibit behaviours which other people would consider unusual, but this is not always the case. Autistic people may rely on structured routines to reduce worry about what is going to happen next. Having to deal with change or unknowns is often hard for autistic people. Some autistic people present with repeated movements, such as hand flapping, finger movements, rocking, tiptoe-walking, repeated fidgeting, and touching of items. Doing these behaviours may help the person feel calm but they may do them because they are enjoyable and pleasurable.
Sensory sensitivities
Tolerating certain sensations can be difficult for autistic people. Not all autistic people feel disabled by their sensitivities. There may be low-level aversions to labels in clothes, the sensation of wool against the skin, competing noises, or bright lights. Although neurotypical people may experience similar sensitivities, isolated aversions such as being unable to tolerate the sound of grinding teeth or the sound of fingernails down a blackboard does not indicate that a person is autistic. Autism describes a broader experience than sensory sensitivity alone. Some autistic people feel overwhelmed by their sensory sensitivities, to the extent that they may experience what some people call “autistic meltdowns” when they are triggered by external stimuli.
Meltdowns
The term “meltdown” may seem like an informal term, but it has been adopted as a way of describing autistic people’s experience of losing behavioural control when things become overwhelming in a given situation. When someone loses control, they may shout, cry, scream, or lash out physically. In children, meltdowns can be mistaken for temper tantrums. Some people may not experience “meltdowns”, but may experience a so-called “shutdown”. Whilst other people may not perceive these experiences as being as difficult or as distressing as a “meltdown”, autistic people, describe how they shutting down and withdrawal from a stressful situation as being equally as distressing.
Causes of autism
There was no single cause of autism. The causes for autism are poorly understood. In the past, there was the fear that autism may be related to the MMR vaccine. However, this controversial link was proposed on the basis of mythologically flawed evidence. There is no consensus that there is an association between autism and vaccinations. Autism does run in families and therefore there is likely to be a genetic component, notwithstanding the fact that some people might argue that nurture may play a part.
Myths
Autism presents differently in different people. Historically, people assumed that autism was closely associated with intellectual disability; however, autism may present in people across the intellectual range. Although autism is usually associated with a degree of impairment, compared to non-autistic people (often referred to as Neurotypical people), the degree of impairment or disability may vary significantly.
Autism was historically associated with the stereotype of having a special ability. These abilities, which are also called savant abilities, or an uncommon finding in the autistic community. The stereotype was encouraged by depictions in the arts, including the film, “Rain Man”. Whilst special abilities are sometimes associated with autistic people, they neither form part of the diagnostic criteria, nor do they form part of the common experience of autistic people.
Another myth is that autism only affects boys. The fact that autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder means that it can affect all age ranges. It is likely that autism was under diagnosed in girls and women in the past. This may be because of the instruments which were designed to support the diagnosis of autism, but it is likely also to relate to the research and gender specific perceptions. There is also somebody of thought that girls and women are more adaptive in their language and may go unnoticed because of learned behaviour. The traditional stereotyped activities of boys and girls may have given rise to autism being more noticeable in boys than girls. The historical pattern of boys playing team sports and being suited to outdoor and physical play means that a preference for solitary and repetitive play is likely to have made autistic boys more conspicuous. On the other hand, girls with undiagnosed autism who did not share play interests with their female peers, may have been perceived in different ways, such as being a tomboy. Being quiet and reserved as a girl may have been valued and their preference for isolation or solitary play may have been more accepted.