Sunday, 31 March 2013

General Facts About Autism



Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how an individual communicates and relates to the world around them. It is a spectrum condition. This means that although people with autism share certain traits and difficulties, the condition will affect each person in a different way. Certain individuals with autism are able to live independently, needing little or no specialist help. Others may have learning difficulties and throughout their lives may need specialist support. The world can be a complex place to someone with ASD. They may find it difficult to understand.

It has being said that to someone with ASD the world is like
“mass of people, places and events which they struggle to make sense of, and which can cause them considerable anxiety”. (The National Autistic Society, 2012)

People with the condition tend to struggle when it comes to taking part in day to day social activities. It is hard for them to express their thoughts and feelings. They also find it difficult to communicate with other people. Sometimes they feel like they are different

There are three areas of difficulty that people with autism share. These difficulties are known as difficulty with social interaction, social communication and social imagination. Collectively these difficulties have being coined the Triad of Impairments. The first of the three is the difficulty people with ASD face regarding social interaction. An individual with ASD can find it hard to understand and recognise another person’s emotions. This gives an impression that they are cold and insensitive towards others feelings. They struggle expressing their own feelings also. It can be hard for someone with autism to let others know how they feel. They may act inappropriately or strangely to express themselves if they are upset or angry. People with autism may not understand the non-written social rules of society. For example, they invade someone’s personal space by standing to closely to them. Sometimes they may talk about their own personal interests at length and in turn show little interest in the hobbies of others. This may come across as being rude. People with autism also prefer their own company. Being alone if usually their preference. They do not go out of their way to seek out the company of others. This can make it difficult for them to form relationships with other people.
Difficulty with social communication affects how an individual with autism understands non-verbal and verbal language. It can be challenging for them to read someone’s body language. It is like a foreign language to them. It is difficult for an autistic person to read facial expressions. The faces people pull to express their emotions can be confusing. They often have a very literal understanding of words. For example, if someone says “That’s cool” it can mean everything is fine. However, a person with ASD may pick this up as “That’s cold”. (The National Autistic Society, 2012) The final impairment is the difficulty people with autism face when it comes to social imagination. People with autism often struggle with the idea change. They often have a daily routine that they stick too. A slight disruption to their daily routine can cause them to become upset and anxious. They find it hard to plan ahead for the future. They like to stay in the comfort of their routine. It is difficult for them to cope with new and unfamiliar situations. It is difficult for them to predict what could happen next. They find it hard to predict people’s actions or thoughts. Children with autism tend to take part in imaginative paly activities in school. They tend to prefer the same games over and over again. They often have no concept of danger and it is not unusual for them to act out inappropriately in public. For example, they might take a notion to run across the road without checking for any moving traffic. This can be extremely stressful for their parents. Difficulty with social imagination should not be confused with lack of imagination. People with autism can be very creative and imaginative.

Autism also varies in severity and symptoms. Sometimes it can go unrecognised in the cases of children who are mildly affected by it. The three severity levels are referred to as Low Functioning Autism (Severe Autism), Moderate Autism and High Functioning Autism (Mild Autism). Low Functioning Autism can have very limited speech. Some individuals may not talk at all. Autism Speaks has reported that 25% of those who are severely autistic are non-verbal. They also have repetitive behaviour. They have a strict routine they like to follow and disruption to this can cause great upset. It can be very difficult to interact with someone who has autism at this level. They are socially unreachable. It is hard for them to understand what others are saying and may lose attention very easily. Those who have Moderate Autism may have certain difficulty communicating with others. Their vocabulary may include some functional communication and some repetitive language. They prefer to communicate through sign language or technical devices. They can be under or over sensitive to lights, sounds, and other types of stimulation. High Functioning Autism can have normal verbal skills; however they face some communication challenges. For example they may take the literal understanding of words that can prove to cause problems in certain situations. They too may have a set routine that they like to follow throughout their day but they are more open about changing their routine in certain situations. They are usually passionate about a particular subject which they will be very open to talk about with others. They are capable to hold eye contact and a conversation with other people.

Autism is a lifelong condition that affects how a person communicates with the world and the people surrounding them. It is a spectrum condition, which means that each person will be affect by autism in a different way. Some individuals may have learning difficulties, limited speech and may need lifelong specialist support throughout their lives. Others may be able to live relatively independent lives. Everyone with autism share three areas of difficulty. These are known as the triad of impairments. These are difficulty with social interaction, communication and imagination. There are also three levels of severity of ASD. These are Low Functioning Autism, Moderate Autism and High Functioning Autism. This project will educate others about the complexity of this condition. The project aims to create a practical design outcome to raise awareness about ASD.

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