Autism

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability involving differences in social interaction and communication, as well as restricted and repetitive behavior. Signs show up during the first three years of an autistic person's life. These signs often develop gradually, though some autistic children show typical development followed by regression.
Autism used to be split into subcategories like Asperger syndrome, classic autism, and PDD-NOS. But the differences between groups were fuzzy. They are now grouped together simply as the "autism spectrum."What’s the difference between autism and Asperger’s disorder?
The number of autism diagnoses has increased in the past decades. Experts have become much better at identifying autism.The Real Reasons Autism Rates Are Up in the U.S. Whether autism is actually becoming more common is unclear.
==Signs of autism==
Every autistic person gets a unique mix of traits. They may have profound difficulties in some areas while other areas are average or above average. Autism includes strengths as well as challenges.Autism StrengthsStrengths of Autism: Why Autistic People Excel at Specific Tasks
Autistic people tend to experience:About AutismWhat is autism?
*Difficulty picking up on social cues like facial expressions, body language, subtexts, and hints
*Trouble making friends
*Discomfort with eye contactFor Those With Autism, Eye Contact Isn't Just Weird, It's Distressing
*Often being misunderstood by non-autistic peopleAutistic Adults May Be Erroneously Perceived as Deceptive and Lacking Credibility
*Sincerity
*Communication difficulties
*Intense, passionate interestsSPECIAL INTERESTSChildren with Autism and Their Special InterestsThe benefits of special interests in autism
*Repetitive fidgeting (stimming) to self-regulateKapp SK, Steward R, Crane L, Elliott D, Elphick C, Pellicano E, Russell G. 'People should be allowed to do what they like': Autistic adults' views and experiences of stimming. Autism. 2019 Oct;23(7):1782-1792. doi: 10.1177/1362361319829628. Epub 2019 Feb 28. PMID: 30818970; PMCID: PMC6728747.Rethinking repetitive behaviors in autismStimming, therapeutic for autistic people, deserves acceptance
*Need for routineWhat makes autistic people like routine?Dealing with change - a guide for all audiences
*Sensory over- and under-sensitivitiesMarco EJ, Hinkley LB, Hill SS, Nagarajan SS. Sensory processing in autism: a review of neurophysiologic findings. Pediatr Res. 2011 May;69(5 Pt 2):48R-54R. doi: 10.1203/PDR.0b013e3182130c54. PMID: 21289533; PMCID: PMC3086654.Sensory differences - a guide for all audiences
*IntegrityAutistic People Care Too Much, Research Says and resistance to peer pressureSocial conformity and autism spectrum disorder : a child-friendly take on a classic study
*Attention to detail
The "intense world" theory suggests that autistic people experience many things more intensely.Markram K, Markram H. The intense world theory - a unifying theory of the neurobiology of autism. Front Hum Neurosci. 2010 Dec 21;4:224. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2010.00224. PMID: 21191475; PMCID: PMC3010743.Intense World Theory Of Autism Explained Simply Autistic brains generate much more information than neurotypical brains while at rest.Intense World Theory Of Autism Explained Simply This could make autistic people more easily overwhelmed, creating a need for calm and quiet environments.
===Social obstacles===
The "double empathy problem" describes how it is harder for non-autistic and autistic people to relate to each other.Damian E.M. Milton DEM979@bham.ac.uk (2012) On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’, Disability & Society, 27:6, 883-887, DOI: 10.1080/09687599.2012.710008Outcomes of real-world social interaction for autistic adults paired with autistic compared to typically developing partnersEdey R, Cook J, Brewer R, Johnson MH, Bird G, Press C. Interaction takes two: Typical adults exhibit mind-blindness towards those with autism spectrum disorder. J Abnorm Psychol. 2016 Oct;125(7):879-885. doi: 10.1037/abn0000199. Epub 2016 Sep 1. PMID: 27583766.Double Empathy: Why Autistic People Are Often Misunderstood Non-autistic people tend to judge autistic people more harshly than they judge non-autistic people.Sasson, N., Faso, D., Nugent, J. et al. Neurotypical Peers are Less Willing to Interact with Those with Autism based on Thin Slice Judgments. Sci Rep 7, 40700 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep40700Autistic Adults May Be Erroneously Perceived as Deceptive and Lacking Credibility However, they are less judgmental when they know the person is autistic and when they understand autism better,Sasson, N. J., & Morrison, K. E. (2019). First impressions of adults with autism improve with diagnostic disclosure and increased autism knowledge of peers. Autism, 23(1), 50-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361317729526 suggesting that improving understanding of autism could help.
Some autistic people learn to "mask" their differences in an attempt to fit in and avoid mistreatment. However, this has negative mental health effects, sometimes severe ones.Conceptualising Autistic Masking, Camouflaging, and Neurotypical Privilege: Towards a Minority Group Model of NeurodiversityCassidy S, Bradley L, Shaw R, Baron-Cohen S. Risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults. Mol Autism. 2018 Jul 31;9:42. doi: 10.1186/s13229-018-0226-4. PMID: 30083306; PMCID: PMC6069847.Cassidy, S.A., Gould, K., Townsend, E. et al. Is Camouflaging Autistic Traits Associated with Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours? Expanding the Interpersonal Psychological Theory of Suicide in an Undergraduate Student Sample. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 3638–3648 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04323-3 Autistic people are generally happier when they can be accepted for who they are.Cage E, Di Monaco J, Newell V. Experiences of Autism Acceptance and Mental Health in Autistic Adults. J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Feb;48(2):473-484. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3342-7. PMID: 29071566; PMCID: PMC5807490.
==Causes==
Autism is mostly geneticThis Is How Much of Autism Is Genetic and it begins in the womb. Some prenatal factors (e.g. maternal infections) may increase the odds of autism.Lee BK, Magnusson C, Gardner RM, Blomström Å, Newschaffer CJ, Burstyn I, Karlsson H, Dalman C. Maternal hospitalization with infection during pregnancy and risk of autism spectrum disorders. Brain Behav Immun. 2015 Feb;44:100-5. doi: 10.1016/j.bbi.2014.09.001. Epub 2014 Sep 16. PMID: 25218900; PMCID: PMC4418173.Atladóttir, H.Ó., Thorsen, P., Østergaard, L. et al. Maternal Infection Requiring Hospitalization During Pregnancy and Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 40, 1423–1430 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1006-y Experts are still investigating causes. Some proposed causes, such as vaccines, have been clearly disproven."Vaccines and autism: a tale of shifting hypotheses". Clin Infect Dis 48 (4): 456–61. 2009. doi:10.1086/596476. PMC 2908388. PMID 19128068. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131031043545/http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/48/4/456.full.Do Vaccines Cause Autism?Autism and VaccinesKnopf A. Time to remember: Vaccines don't cause autism. The Brown University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter. 2021 Jul;37(7):9–10. doi: 10.1002/cbl.30559. Epub 2021 Jun 7. PMCID: PMC8207024.Link between autism and vaccination debunkedVaccines Don't Cause Autism (and Here's the Proof)
==Support==
Autism is lifelong.Scott D. Wright , Cheryl A. Wright , Valerie D’Astous & Amy Maida Wadsworth (2019) Autism aging, Gerontology & Geriatrics Education, 40:3, 322-338, DOI: 10.1080/02701960.2016.1247073 The right support can make a huge difference in quality of life.
Therapies for autism include occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, counseling, and support groups. Behavior modification is the most popular therapy, but it is controversial due to ethical issuesWilkenfeld DA, McCarthy AM. Ethical Concerns with Applied Behavior Analysis for Autism Spectrum "Disorder". Kennedy Inst Ethics J. 2020;30(1):31-69. doi: 10.1353/ken.2020.0000. PMID: 32336692.Long-term ABA Therapy Is Abusive: A Response to Gorycki, Ruppel, and Zane and the risk of inflicting harm.“Recalling hidden harms”: autistic experiences of childhood applied behavioural analysis (ABA)Evidence of increased PTSD symptoms in autistics exposed to applied behavior analysisAileen Herlinda Sandoval-Norton, Gary Shkedy & Dalia Shkedy | Jacqueline Ann Rushby (Reviewing editor) (2019) How much compliance is too much compliance: Is long-term ABA therapy abuse?, Cogent Psychology, 6:1, DOI: 10.1080/23311908.2019.1641258Why caregivers discontinue applied behavior analysis (ABA) and choose communication-based autism interventions
While support needs vary, many autistic people cannot live fully independently. Lifelong services can help them manage things like employment, health and safety, and other areas where they might need support.
Autistic people often do better when they are allowed to be themselves. Enjoying their special interests is good for their wellbeing.Grove R, Hoekstra RA, Wierda M, Begeer S. Special interests and subjective wellbeing in autistic adults. Autism Res. 2018 May;11(5):766-775. doi: 10.1002/aur.1931. Epub 2018 Feb 10. PMID: 29427546. Behavior like stimming and avoiding eye contactShould We Insist on Eye Contact with People who have Autism Spectrum Disorders can help them stay calm and adapt to situations.
==Autism in Society==
Autistic people have developed their own culture and community.
===Autism Rights and Neurodiversity===
The autism rights movement emerged to increase acceptance of autistic people and to defend against abuse.Trivedi, Bijal. Autistic and proud of it. New Scientist. Retrieved on 10 November 2015. Through this movement, people hope to cause others to think of autism as a difference instead of a disease. Proponents of this movement wish to seek "acceptance, not cures."Shapiro, Joseph (26 June 2006). Autism Movement Seeks Acceptance, Not Cures. NPR. Retrieved on 10 November 2015. Key issues include abuse prevention, self-determination, the right to be themselves instead of being forced to assimilate, and seeing autism as a difference to accommodate instead of a disease to eradicate.A History and Overview of the Autism Acceptance Movementden Houting, J. (2019). Neurodiversity: An insider’s perspective. Autism, 23(2), 271-273. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318820762
===Debates Around Autism===
Debates on autism often split into two groups. The neurodiversity group argues that autism is a difference instead of a disease, and that support for autistic people should honor their individual needs and quirks. The anti-neurodiversity group argues that autism is a disease that should be cured or ameliorated through behavior training to make autistic people fit in.
==External resources==
*Embrace Autism
*Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
*Autism articles on wikiHow
*Autistic Self-Advocacy Network
==References==