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Writer's pictureAniston Antony
6 min read

What is AUTISM?

INTRODUTION


Everyone goes through the same developmental stages of language and communication, socialising, cognitive skills like problem solving, physical abilities (crawling, walking, running). All of these develop as we develop from birth. If anyone of these doesn’t develop according to schedule, it may be described as neuro developmental disorder (Neuro means brain). Especially of social interaction, language, communication take time to develop, it can result in isolation, that in where the word AUTISM developed (AUT means self). Thus, due to isolation, they might be left alone or left to themselves.


Autism is now termed as Autism Spectrum Dysfunction (ASD) as it has a lot of variation and show different symptoms. As one autistic person is different from another autistic person in terms of the disease, symptoms and behaviour.


TYPES OF AUTISM


Autism is mainly divided into 3 main types:


  1. Classical Autism or Kanner’s Autism: It is among the most severe autism. It shows the same symptoms of autism but in a more severe way. This leads to a low developmental disorder, a very low IQ and sometimes into mental retardation.

  2. Asperger’s Syndrome or High Function Autism: This is among the low severe type of autism. It tends to have the basic symptoms with low severity. These individuals have a very good chance of normal life. They tend to develop high level of IQ. They tend to be super smart at stuffs that a normal person tends to find it difficult in areas such as science, math's, arts, economic, design, etc.

  3. Pervasive Developmental Disorder or Atypical Autism: This is among the less studies autism. This type leads to a more sociological and behavioural deviation.


BASIC SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM


  1. Social Interaction challenges: They find it difficult to interact in society and mostly get into panic mode when there is a social gathering. They tend to be alone and does not go out with friends or families.

  2. Difficulty in Communication: They find it very difficult to convey their basic necessities to their loved ones. This can be associated to cognitive dysfunction. Also, they are more sensitive to issues such as their personal belongings, toys, food, etc.

  3. Repetitive Behavior: They engage in repetitive behavior in a daily basis often finding it hard to stop like head rocking, hand flipping, walking up and down, etc. They do these to calm themselves down. They actually have no idea on how their words hurt people which they do unwillingly. And most often does not respond when talked to.


CLASSIFICATION BASED ON SEVERITY OF AUTISM


LEVEL 1: Minimal clinical support

This is similar to Asperger’s syndrome. They have difficult in conversation but tend to do complete sentences to convey their message. They do show repetitive behaviour but in a mild manner but this often leads to less socialising.

LEVEL 2: Mediocre clinical support

They show symptoms in the range between level 1 and level 2. They often spend their time at home with their loved ones and families.

LEVEL 3: Maximum clinical support

They tend of have very less social communication because they find it difficult to convey their message. They speak few words and rarely interact with others. They show high levels of repetitive behavior and are extremely resistant to change. These interfere in their daily life and has a high impact on their day-to-day activities.


FACT

  • Autism is known to affect every 1 in 60 individuals.

  • Boys are at times more risk to be autistic than girls.

  • It is known that a combination of genetic, environmental and psychological factors contributes to autism.


SYMPTOMS


They tend of have no communication to eye contact at a younger age. Spoon feeding often contributes to a prolonged period eve after the age of 4-5 years. This leads to a prolonged meltdown in terms of mental and psychological barriers in the child as well their care takers. They tend to hurt themselves, which they do to calm themselves down.

People with Autism sometimes have other conditions such as higher rates of sleep disorder, ADHD, anxiety, depression and gastrointestinal issues.


EARLY SIGNS OF AUTISM


He/she is not aware of the people nearby or have any attention to the people nearby. Doesn’t share the excitement of his toy with others. Also, doesn’t synchronise our actions when we try to play or grab attention of the child.

Signs of Autism at infant age:


  • Does not look towards others and smile

  • Engage into one activity very much (Obsessed).

  • Does not have a creative approach or play with the toy.

  • Does not respond when name is called.

  • Does not share his toys with others so that others can have a share.

  • Doesn’t make a social connection with his mother.

  • Flaps his hand by enjoying the moment but doesn’t look at the person while enjoying.

  • Doesn’t focus his attention while pointed to a direction.

  • No coordination via eye contact or gesture movements (for help).

  • Attention is so much focused on the toy that he forgets and loses attention of nearby people and environment.


IS THERE A CURE FOR AUTISM?


There is no cure yet for Autism. Physicians sometimes recommend Anti-depressants medication or physical and mental training session to adapt to the normal world. Autism is just another way to see the world. Autistic people sense the world in a different way, respond in a different stimulus than others. These can be studied to cure different forms of Autism. Whatever makes the autistic person different makes them special.

  • Autism is a spectrum disorder and varies from person to person.

  • Changes in brain development associated with Autism begin during the prenatal period (Fetes stage).

  • Early behavioral intervention helps children with Autism learn to communicate and socially interact and has a significant impact on long term support.

We need medical intervention to provide state of the art clinical care. Conducting research, experiments on Autism, training the next generation of scientists and advocates for public policies to ensure people with Autism reach their full potential.

The world can be confusing mass of people, events and places. We struggle to make sense of the world and this can make us anxious. Every person with Autism is different, that is what it makes us more difficult to understand. Autism is not caused by a person’s upbringing or their social circumstances.


FACT

  • Autism is sometimes called as Hidden disability.

  • 10% of autistic children have skills such as math, drawing, calculation. But this is a small number compared to the vast majority of people in the spectrum.

  • Autism is not caused by vaccination (Clinical studies have been conducted on this).

  • Not all children on the spectrum is same shows the same symptoms.


CONCLUSION


Some Autistics have superpowers in the form of savant syndrome where they can do high complex calculation in their brain. This is because they have a string short term and long-term memory due to which they can memorise numerous facts, details, equations, etc. with absolute precision.


Isaac Newton, Amadeus Mozart, Charles Darwin, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein- All the people shoed Asperger’s Autism. Yes, these people who were autistic revolutionised our world in a way we would never think of.


Everyday Autistic people have to try and pretend to be normal. There are days where they unwillingly hurt people. Every day is a special day with a lot of challenges. But by this, they become more stronger and more resilient. People need to start defining themselves by their talents and by what they actually are. These imperfections are what their amazing mind is made up of. To make this world like a beautiful adventure.


The people who doesn’t consider an Autistic person normal, this is our high time to educate them, make them understand that we are just different and don’t just ignore us. When we see a panic-stricken person, hug them. Hugging is statistically proven to calm down Autistic people. We hope we all join together and break down the stereotypes associated with Autism and help Autistic people live the life they choose to live.


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