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Imagining Autistic Spectrum Disorders
An autistic person's environment has a whole set
of different parameters and different rules.
They have a different way of thinking. For
a non-autistic person to imagine an autistic
environment they must imagine an environment that
they have never experienced. The world is an
inconstant chaotic place from an autistic person's
perspective. However, I believe that many people
can relate to an autistic environment because
most people seem to have a small bits of these
problems (to a much lesser degree).
Naturally, I would advise that you
read my book!
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Who suffers from Autistic Spectrum Disorder?
 Autistic Spectrum Disorder is a live-long condition found in all races and in all social classes.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder is estimated to affect the lives of about 6 people out of every 1000 people. However there are those who believe that the true figure could be as high as 1 person in every 100 people.
It occurs about 4 times more often in males than females (i.e. four males to one female). This proportion is also found in other developmental disorders such as Dyslexia.
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Main Characteristics - Triad of Impairments
Autistic Spectrum Disorders have a range of 3
central symptoms (triad of impairments) all of which are always present to some degree. The 3 symptoms are basically
impairments in imagination, social communication
and social interaction, plus a strong tendency
towards repetitive behaviour. All of which result in unusual behaviour.
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Impairment in social relationships/skills/interaction:
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lack of understanding others feelings & emotions
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very poor at interpreting other peoples facial expressions and body language
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individuals may appear aloof, stilted, rude, aggressive, forthright, shy, thoughtless, immature &/or act inappropriately in social interaction situations and consequently fail to form 'real' lasting friendships
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Impaired Imagination: is an inability to imagine things, which have not already been experienced, for example:
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New or different situations can be unimaginable and therefore perhaps freightening. For instance, if someone I normally spend time with goes on holiday, to me it is as if they have entered a empty void - it is as if the person is dead (Is this why Autistic people prefer routines and repetitive behaviour?)
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Changes in routine are frightening/disorientating without the ability to imagine an alternative order of events. Perhaps this explains some or all repetitive behaviour?
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Do not realise/comprehend other peoples mental states are different from their own. An autistic person may not appreciate that other people have their own thoughts, perspectives, plans etc.
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Have difficulties with generalisations.
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Communication and Language. Autistic people have trouble with expressing and projecting themselves and difficulty understanding all levels of communication, which may manifest as:
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A literal understanding of language. 'Pictorial language' can be nonsensical. For example, its raining cats and dogs, we're going 'down' the road to the shops etc. (cats and dogs do not fall out of the sky and the shops are not underneath the road!)
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"Don't do that". An autistic person may not know what the word 'that' is referring to.
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Autistic people have the same emotions as everybody else - but may not express them in a way that is easily understood, partly because they may fail to realise that language is one way of doing this.
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They may talk to somebody without taking any notice of that person.
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Sensory Difficulties
Most, if not all people with from Autistic
Spectrum Disorder have some impairment in at
least one of their senses. Anyone reading my book will find
out just how debilitating these impairments
are. Some senses can be hypersensitive
(too sensitive) and others maybe hyposensitive (under
sensitive) which makes it very hard to withstand
normal stimulation and therefore normal
situations. For instance, I find the noise of
traffic very irritating because it is too loud
and furthermore my program Sight2000 simulates
the disruption to my vision. Any sense can be
affected; vision, auditory, olfactory (smell),
taste, tactile, vestibular (affects balance) and
proprioception (relating to the position and
movement of the body). Consequently many of us
struggle with making sense of this incoming
muddle of sensory information. Moreover many of use have difficulty filtering out extrenuous information from our senses so can quickly become overloaded with inputs (e.g. noise) from the outside world.
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Physical neurological - biochemical differences
Physical differences can be split into two
distinct categories, firstly abnormality in the
biochemistry and in the neural structure of the
brain. The exact ways in which these differences
affect the behaviour of an individual is very
hard to determine because this area of science is
still very much in its infancy. However it seems
that some areas of the brain are highly developed
(more than in a non-autistic person) and other
areas are underdeveloped - even physically
smaller. Some areas of the brain are physically
'connected' differently.
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Allergies and Sensitivities
There are many anecdotal references to dramatic
changes in a child's behaviour and health after
removing certain foods from their diets. I would
also suggest that certain household chemicals
found in such things as paints, glues, nail
vanish, hair spray, washing powder can also set
off strange reactions in an susceptible person
and I definitely come into this category. Coming
into contact with these sorts of chemicals can
make me suddenly feel as if I have had toxins
pumped into by blood stream.
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Savant Skills
There is a proportion, some figures suggest 10%,
of sufferers of Autistic Spectrum Disorders
having exceptional skills in some area such as
arithmetic, music, art, puzzles, spacial
construction and memory. For example, in my case, I have a huge
capacity to remember, I can manipulate complex mathematical
equations effortlessly in my head, look a objects from all
angles in my minds eye.
Interestingly there has been some recent research which suggests that 'normal' people may also have the potential for such skills but are not able to use them because 'normal' people are unable to access their subconscious so easily.
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Causes
Little is known for certain about the exact
causes of Autistic Spectrum Disorders and much
research is needed however, there is now an increasing
amount of good scientific research to suggest
genetical factors play a crucial role.
There are
suggestions (but no conclusive scientific evidence)
that in some cases it could be caused by certain
vaccinations (given in infancy) or even viruses (somehow effecting
the unborn child) during labour or viral
infections in the young baby. Also there is
speculation (but no hard scientific
evidence) that toxins and pollution could in some
cases be to blame.
Autistic Spectrum Disorders are not the result of
emotional deprivation or bad upbringing. Although
the unusual behaviour historically has lead some to
beleive that it is psychological. It should always
be remembered that the behaviour of an autistic
person is relative to their perceived environment
just as the behaviour of a 'normal' person is
relative to their perceived environment. This can be illustrated as follows: A young autistic child is at home with their parents and several family members (adults and children) arrive at the house - everyone piles into the lounge. After a short time the autistic child screems to all the people in the lounge "Shut-up, shut-up. Go away, GO AWAY." Everyone is shocked and dismayed at the childs unreasonable and very rude behaviour.
Although this behaviour is 'convensionally' socially unacceptable - it is in actual fact completely reasonable. I doubt that anyone could withstand the torturous sensory overload that the autistic child was experiencing. So what is the answer? Well, it all comes down to management of the situation - with time and expereince the child and family will need to learn coping mechenisms for example, in this situation the child could have been allowed to go and play quietly in their room.
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Treatments
Unfortunately there is no treatment/therapy or
drug which can scientifically be proven to help
all people suffering from Autistic Spectrum
Disorders. It is my personal belief that
different conventional and non-conventional
treatments/therapies do help many sufferers but
the difficulty is finding the one(s) which is
best for you and/or your child. However it is not
my place to make any suggestions or point towards
any one specific treatment. As a sufferer of
Asperger's Syndrome who has never been given any
help I have a rather distant perspective but for
what it is worth if I were a parent of a child
suffering from an Autistic Spectrum Disorder I
would be inclined to try several different
treatments each of which concentrated on a
different aspect of my child's condition. For
instance, I might use a therapy to improve social
understanding, try changing/regulating my child's
diet and perhaps some sensory integration
techniques.
In the absense of a cure or a 'magic' treatment then management (learning how to cope) of the condition will be curical to the child's development. The management techiques will be unique to each individual as no two autistic people are the the same.
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Find out about my autobiography
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