Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a lifelong developmental disorder which affects an individual’s ability to socialize and communicate, have restrictive interests and repetitive behaviours. These can affect the person’s ability to function properly in school, work and other areas in life.

Autism is a spectrum condition. This means that while all people with autism share the same difficulties, the condition affects everyone differently and so they will need different levels of support.

Below is a list of difficulties autistic people may share:

Social communication challenges

Autistic people have difficulties with interpreting verbal and non-verbal languages such as gestures or tone of voice. Some autistic people are unable to speak or have limited speech, while other autistic people have very good language skills but struggle to understand sarcasm or tone of voice. 

Signs of difficult social communications include:

• Needing extra time to process information and answer questions
• Taking things very literally and finding jokes hard to interpret

Social Interaction Challenges

Autistic people frequently have difficulty in understanding other people’s feelings and intentions and expressing their own emotions. 

Autistic people may:

• Seem blunt, rude, or not interested in others without meaning to
• Find it hard to make friends, or prefer to be alone
• Get too close to other people or get very upset if someone touches or gets too close to you
• Find it difficult to hold eye contact

Repetitive and Restrictive behaviour

People with Autism may show preference for a strict daily routine and may get very upset if it changes. This is because the world can seem a very unpredictable and confusing place to them and is why they often prefer to have a daily routine so that they know what is going to happen.

People with Autism may also repeat movements such as flapping their hands, flicking their fingers, rocking their body or repetitive use of an object such as twirling a pen or opening and closing doors.

Over- or under- Sensitivity to light, sound, taste or touch

Children with Autism may get very upset if they do not like a certain taste, smell or sound.

People with Autism may find certain background sounds like music in a restaurant, which other people ignore or block out, unbearably loud or distracting. 

They often avoid everyday situations because of their sensitivity issues. Schools, workplaces and shopping centres can be particularly overwhelming.

Highly focused interests or hobbies

Many autistic people have intense and highly focused interests. Being highly focused helps many autistic people do well academically and in the workplace but they can become too engrossed in particular topics to the point that they neglect other aspects of their lives.

Extreme Anxiety

For many autistic adults, anxiety presents a real difficulty, particularly in social situations. Some experience extreme anxiety specifically in social situations.

Meltdowns and Shutdowns

When everything becomes too much, people with autism can go into a:

• Meltdown – when someone becomes completely overwhelmed by their current situation and temporarily loses behavioural control. The loss of control can be verbal such as shouting, screaming, crying or physical such as kicking, lashing out, biting. Meltdowns are often mistaken for temper tantrums and parents and their autistic children often experience hurtful comments and judgmental stares from less understanding members of the public.

• Shutdowns – a more passive response to being overwhelmed. An autistic person going quiet or switching off. Though it may appear less intense on the outside world, it can be as frustrating as a meltdown.