Autism Awareness and Understanding Sally Evenhuis Project for Autism at Richmond CAMHS

What is Autism? Autism is a lifelong, developmental disability /difference that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people. It affects how a person makes sense of the world and how they process information. Autism is often described as a 'spectrum disorder' because the condition affects people in many different ways and to varying degrees. http://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/asd.aspx

Stephen Shore – Author and adult on the Spectrum What is Autism? Lifelong Neurological condition A spectrum condition Unique to each individual Unknown cause, probable genetic link ‘If you’ve met one person with Autism you have met one person with Autism.’ Stephen Shore – Author and adult on the Spectrum

Autism is not…… Autism is NOT caused by “refrigerator parenting” Autism is NOT a learning disability People with every measure of IQ can have autism , but people with autism are likely to have areas of skill and areas of challenge Autism is NOT a mental health problem

Core Features of Autism challenges in these three areas Communication Flexibility of Thought Social Interaction

Social Interaction Traits Unmotivated to communicate with others / little interest in other people Anxiety around socially interacting / meeting new people May make little or no direct eye contact Difficulty being in groups or crowded places May prefer being on own than around others

Flexibility of Thought Traits Difficulty with unexpected change, prefers routine Difficulty with seeing things from another persons point of view Detail focused – difficulty in seeing the bigger picture Special interests – may not be age or socially appropriate

Communication Examples Literal understanding – difficulty with sarcasm / phrases Often direct and ‘too’ honest May communicate very little or dominate conversations Communication may be ‘off topic’, repetitive or focus on areas of interest Next slides is positives – ask for ideas before proceeding

Positives of autism People with autism often have one or more of these qualities : Don’t tend to lie Good memory for dates Honest Don’t judge Can focus and excel in a specific field Can bring up a variety of interesting facts Great attention to detail Have one or more highly developed talents Are easily able to forgive others

Autism Stars Satoshi Tajiri ; the creator of Pokémon Heather Kuzmich – model Chris Packham ;TV presenter How about Lionel Messi ? Einstein?

Disability or Difference ? Autism can be described as ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) or ASC (Autism Spectrum Condition ) What are the advantages and disadvantage of each title? “The world needs different kinds of minds to work together” Temple Grandin

Challenges of living with autism Neuro divergent in a neurotypical world The label leads to presumptions that you may be a genius or have a learning disability Sensory issues are almost always a major issue and can make life hard to tolerate if not accommodated https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2P4Ed6G3gw

The Neurological Umbrella A diagnosis of ASD rarely exists in a vacuum. People with autism often have other co-occurring diagnoses, for example Dyslexia Speech and language difficulties Executive functioning difficulties ADHD Dyscalculia Dyspraxia Sensory integration difficulties Autism OCD Anxiety/Depression

Literal Understanding Back in a second! Can you hang on ? Jump on the computer! People with ASC may find it difficult to understand and interpret unwritten rules of social interaction. People with an ASC often have to work at learning these rules. It can often be confusing and cause anxiety as many social rules are unwritten and not spoken about it.

Routine and change In order to make the world a less confusing place, people with ASC may have rules and rituals (morning rituals, ways of doing things) which they can reply upon. They may prefer to order their day to a set pattern or routine. But this can cause anxiety if something goes wrong in their daily routine e.g. bus is late

Processing delay Some people with Autism have difficulty processing information straight away. So may need that extra time to process information. Solutions- Quiet environment = minimal distractions. Communicate one thing at a time Provide written information to back up verbal

Seeing the world in detail ‘When I go out in the world, I notice everything, and mentally process everything. And I mean everything. This is partly why I get so exhausted’ – Kirsten Byrd ‘She will see things in the distance that nobody else will notice, until she points them out for them. She can really see the detail in things’ – Alis Rowe

Break and discussion