Autism Spectrum Disorders Most people will think of a silent, stony-faced child who sits in a corner, rocking and is completely unresponsive. This is the sad truth for a minute portion of the Autistic population, but most are nowhere nearly so severe. The most important thing you can learn about Autism is that it's a SPECTRUM DISORDER. That means it's like the difference between black and white--white being a normal person, and black being a very severely autistic person. There are many, many, many shades of gray in between the black and the white. I am in the pale gray. I have Asperger's Syndrome. The whole set of symptoms portrayed by people with ASD's (in any range of severity) are: Fixation: this means that they are basically prone to obsession, eg, they become obsessed easily, and tend to stay with that obsession for a long time. Usually a positive one, although that doesn't mean their family and friends won't go crazy from hearing them talk about it ALL THE TIME. This is called perseveration. Delayed Social Skills: they display difficulty fitting into a social structure; they often have trouble in conversation, and may talk about a narrow range of things. likely their perseveration is a favorite subject. Poor Language or even non-existent language: this means they may not speak at all, or are nonverbal. Most, however, do speak, at least a little. All three criterion must be met for a patient to be diagnosed with Autism. Those who fall in two of the categories will likely be classified as having Asperger's Syndrome--which I have. My nine-year-old bother is mildly Autistic. This is why I included this condition. I never do hear the end of his rants about WWII...(that's his perseveration, lucky me, I like history, though.)
This is a very basic overview of autism. Living with an ASD in a world of non-autistic people, or neurotypicals is kind of like trying to fit in with a culture you've read about but aren't part of. Really, like a kid from the USA trying to live in Mexico only knowing the basics of the language. This is coming from my life with very mild autism. It can be incredibly frustrating, having a) fixations, very narrow interests, eg: science and writing using that science, trying to fit and socialize actively with people who don't give a crap about what I care about. And big truth: I don't give a crap as to the things they think about. I'm a nerd, I guess you could say. It's not that I dislike their ideas-it's just that I'm not at all interested in the same subject--or even the same type of subjects. And when I finally hit gold, finding people who are nice and accept me, well, the conversation is rapid-fire. I could tell you, even without a diagnosis: something in conversation seems to move too fast. I'm missing some sub-language, something that is a mutual agreement or something--something that they have that helps them be social and not feel like lost idiots that I don't have. that is my viewpoint.
And I feel so lost, I begin to think that even if I do say something, they're going to ignore me or laugh at me, at least inwardly, because they must realize I'm so pathetically lost.
My mom says I don't understand socializing, having heard me trying to talk to two of my friends in the car once. They talked boys and TV and pop music, while I tried to interject with a comment on how cool it was, learning about the human skeletal system in science. Most of my conversations with more than one person, especially more than one kid, are epic failures. And the worst part is: both myself and they are aware of that.
I have to admit, I cannot imagine being nonverbal. Nonverbal people are often every bit as intelegent as we are, but they lack the ability to 'rant' or let out pent up emotions through any form of specific communication. So they resort to a tried and true method: essentially having a crying, screaming fit.
Intensive speech and behavioral therapy can help them come to the level of at least speaking a few words. Even completely nonverbal individuals have been aided by the use of flashcards in therapy and in use at home in daily life. Provided they get the therapies they need, and having reasonable intellegence, even severely autistic people will live fulfilling lives. Not all will live 'normal' lives, but being abnormal doesn't mean you are cursed to misery.
Group homes for people are used in many types of disorders, and autistic people may end up in one of them. As for the people with other underlying disabilities, I don't know. I've met many autistic people and a few with emotional or mental problems. In the end, the label doesn't really matter, only the fact that these people are supported and loved by someone.
that's about it for my article on autism.
Something called Autism
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You managed to describe ASD very succinctly there. One of my very close friends has asperger's syndrome. Luckily the things he obsesses about interest me greatly, and I can listen to him rant on about tattoos and body modification for hours without getting bored, I'm more of a listener in real life anyway.
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