Autism

What is autism?

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects both children and adults. It is not know what causes autism, or if indeed there is a cause.

The WHO defines autism as: “Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a diverse group of conditions. They are characterised by some degree of difficulty with social interaction and communication. Other characteristics are atypical patterns of activities and behaviours, such as difficulty with transition from one activity to another, a focus on details and unusual reactions to sensations.”

Autism affects the brain in many ways and autism disorder is on a spectrum, whereas historically autistic people used to be pigeon holed as “mildly autistic” or “severely autistic”. What those labels translate into in reality is how inconvenienced or affected a neurotypical person is by an autistic person’s behaviours or characteristics.

It’s perhaps easier to judge autistic people over taking the time and energy to understand and help them.

How can you be autistic if you’re intelligent or academic?

Some autistic people have learning disabilities and some don’t. Autism is a spectrum, so there’s no such thing as being “a bit” autistic, every autistic person is different.

Intellectual disability is a lifelong condition defined as a significantly reduced ability to learn new skills, understand complex information, and communicate. This is sometimes referred to as a learning disability.

A learning disability affects people in different ways, for example one person might struggle with interacting with others, and someone else might have difficulty controlling their behaviour.

How can you be autistic if you’re not silent?

Because autism is a spectrum, there’s no standard set of symptoms that every autistic person displays. Some autistic people are verbal and some non verbal. There’s a misconception that if you can hold a conversation, you can’t be autistic. 

Most autistic people experience difficulty with interacting with others, initiating interactions and understanding and relating to other people. It may not be obvious to those around them when an autistic person is struggling with these sorts of situations, because autistic people tend to learn early on in life to disguise, or mask, the characteristics that make them different.

Rainman is a typical representation of autism, right?

Unfortunately, autistic stereotypes in films and the media are wildly inaccurate and even dangerous.

Stereotypes include autistic people are devoid of emotion, intellectually disabled and are incapable of leading happy, fulfilled lives.

These stereotypes are vicious and destructive and help nobody.

You might be surprised by some celebrities who are, were, or were suspected to be autistic.

What are the signs of autism?

Social interaction challenges

Making too much or no eye contact is a struggle for autistic people. We don’t pick up on social cues, so we don’t understand what neurotypical people take for granted in having a standard conversation.

We might not be able to interpret tone of voice or body language, so we might need to be told things directly. One example that I struggle with is I can’t tell when a conversation is at an end, until someone abruptly finishes it. I also find that I put a lot of effort and energy into appearing “normal” in a conversation, doing “normal” things like trying to make “normal” eye contact or nodding and smiling.

Repetitive and restrictive behaviours

Routines and schedules can be key for autistic people – it’s a way of creating order from chaos, a way of getting certainty and control in a world that’s not made for us to thrive in.

When those schedules and rigidity around situations have to give way, it can be really difficult for an autistic person to feel confident and comfortable.

Sometimes changing seasons can be stressful; when my children were at primary school I used to find school holidays really, really challenging and stressful but I never knew why.

Self stimulation, or “stimming” is how autistic people self soothe, or calm themselves in a stressful situation or environment. Stimming tends to take the form of repetitive movements, including swaying, fidgeting, twirling a piece of hair or hand flapping. Autistic people should be left to stim with freedom and without judgment, until they no longer feel the need to.

Fidget or sensory toys can be really helpful for stimming. My favourites are an infinity cube, peas in a pod and a nee doh. I have a few of each of these and I pop a pea pod in my work trouser pockets, so I know I have a resource if I need one while I’m at work.

Highly focused special interests

Many autistic people have intense and highly focused special interests, which can be short term or last a lifetime.

It might take the form of collecting things or an intense interest, like Greta Thunberg’s passion for protecting the environment. Autistic people gain huge amounts of pleasure from pursuing their interests and see them as fundamental to their wellbeing and happiness.

These are just some autistic behaviours; the National Autistic Society goes into these and others in more detail.

Sensory sensitivities

Sensory sensitivities are experienced by many autistic people, and the sensitivity can vary from under-stimulation to over-stimulation in a variety of senses.

I’m extremely sensitive to sounds and textures, and a little less so with lights. My senses of smell and taste are under developed.

It’s really difficult for people who struggle with sensory sensitivities to try to articulate their experiences. This is partly because the act of articulating thoughts can be an autistic struggle in itself! But it’s also because to some degree, the autistic person may know that the person they’re trying to describe their experiences to doesn’t have the same sensitivities.

Sensory sensitivities are thought to exist because of certain areas of the brain are over or under developed or connected.

What is masking?

Masking is the completely EXHAUSTING process of trying to cover your autistic traits in a bid to seem “normal” to others.

Autistic people use masking as a conscious or unconscious suppression of their natural autistic responses. It means we hide or control behaviours associated with autism that may be perceived by neurotypical people as inappropriate.

People mask to avoid being outed or harassed, which is really sad. It’s absolutely exhausting and can lead to autistic burnout.

Some examples of masking include:

• Mimicking gestures or body language
• Imitating smiles or facial expressions
• Hiding or minimising special interests
• Forcing eye contact in conversations or group situations
• Struggling through distressing sensory situations to avoid drawing attention to yourself
• Restraining from stimming around others for fear of judgement or irritating others 

Who should I talk to if I think I might have autism?

Your GP can start the assessment process and you’ll be asked to complete and return the AQ10 assessment form if you don’t have a learning disability. This will start the process, but NHS waiting times are rolling into the years with the explosion of late diagnoses, especially for women.

While you’re waiting for a diagnosis, you may find it useful to familiarise yourself with resources, tools and books that can help you understand autism a little more.

I did this, and I found it helped me to take control of something that could potentially be quite overwhelming and scary.

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