Learning About Autism: Here’s All You Need to Know
Tags: Autism, Mental Health Awareness, Autism Awareness, Autism Acceptance, Mental Health

It’s the story of one out of every 54 children.

It’s the story of one out of every 54 children.

As toddlers, they are unresponsive, do not enjoy ‘baby talk’, and get aggressive quickly. That aggression builds up as a trigger during early childhood years, hampering relationships with those around them. Withdrawal becomes more frequent, and your child shows lesser interests in daily activities. Being told that your child is diagnosed with Autism pushes you to the margin. The situation can be confusing at the least, and disturbing at the worst. With an autistic child who refuses to talk and share where it hurts, where do you go?

Defining ‘Autism’: What You Don’t Know

Autism is a short name for a whole class of disabilities called Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yes, you read that right. With no visible signs of handicap, it is often difficult to accept it as a disability in need of professional help. With the “refrigerator mother” theory is still doing circles around us, and most parents rather believe the idea that cold and uncaring mothers traumatize the child into autism. They couldn’t be more wrong. Autism can be traced to genetic factors, including an immediate autistic family member, genetic mutations, exposure to toxic environments and a history of viral infections and a combination of other factors.

As many causes as there can be for autism, there can be a variety of its symptoms too. The most recent edition by the American Psychiatric Association classifies ASD on five subtypes:

with or without intellectual impairment

with or without language impairment

with catatonia, or temporary paralysis

caused by a known genetic or environmental factor

caused by another neurodevelopmental, mental, or behavioural disorder.

This said, there are a few marked symptoms you would need to look out for: delay in language and social development during early life. You might see them interacting less, holding a conversation, or understanding body language changes.

Some visible symptoms can include:

· hand flapping, repetitive movements or gestures

· trouble maintaining eye contact

· fixation on specific interests and behaviour patterns

These symptoms show variety based on severity. Language deficits can vary between mildly impaired social communication to a lack of speech. Some adults might lead an independent life, while others can be entirely dependent.

Seeing & Experiencing Autism: Some Misconceptions, How It Feels Like

Autism can scare you into thinking that such people don’t want friends, are intellectually retarded and social recluses. You might even be misled into thinking that autistic people lack empathy or any emotional bandwidth. These misconceptions can make an autistic person look like a misfit. Truth is, an autistic person can be as naturally bright as most normal people. Autism can bring with it just as many exceptional people with normal to high IQs, some even excelling at math, arts or more. The much-loved Alice in Wonderland’s author, Lewis Carroll was autistic himself. Pick science giants Isaac Newton or Albert Einstein, you’ll find autistic data facts on either of them.

When it comes to empathy, autistic persons are often sensitive to the emotions of others around them. The only catch, however, is making sense of the shifts in body language, tone of voice and emotional indicators. When communicated aptly, autistic people can be responsive to emotional changes and show empathy.

Finding Autism: Why They Suffer & What You Can Do

Most Autism professional help involves Applied Behavior Analysis, that involves corrective techniques. However, personal accounts of autistic children will tell you about the hardships involved. For some, corrective behavior can be rigid at least, and traumatic at worst. They often involve a strict scheduling and monitoring of autistic children into ‘normal’ behavior patterns.

What has majorly worked for autistic persons is the simple fact of one-on-one support. Developing an alternative educational model, Barry Prizant said how traditional methods “treat the person as a problem to be solved rather than an individual to be understood”. What becomes more helpful, is to dig deeper and understand what motivates a particular behavior. Struggling with language doesn’t mean that autistic people are unreachable. As great visual learners, you can use strong visual activities to help you communicate better.

The first step you can do is learn about autism. Find out what triggers the child, challenges him/her and leads to disruptive behaviors and what evokes a positive response. Simple factors like stress points, moments of fright and alternatively, what calms them down. Understanding what affects them helps in troubleshooting problems and devising unique adaptive strategies. Being a positive influence and a welcoming role model can make a lifelong impact on their lives.