Chances are, if you’re reading this website, you already know a little something about autism. Still, autism remains a mysterious diagnosis and force in many ways, and we'd like to illuminate with explanation perhaps why some things are the way they are for people with autism, and what is sound and known about autism here.
Autism is a neurological, or brain-based, disorder affecting three major areas of development: communication, social, and environmental responsiveness. While exact statistics tend to vary by source, some recently accepted figures indicate that an astonishing 1 in every 166 newborn children will be diagnosed with a form of autism. You’ll find other figures from reliable sources indicating 1 in every 200, or 1 in every 250 births, but it appears that the scientific community is moving towards the most expansive figure to date. Regardless, it’s quite clear that autism appears to be on the rise. Who has autism? Every population is affected by autism, with absolutely no differences or boundaries for the disorder regardless of race, religion, culture, socio-economic background, and/or geographic location. Still, research continues to indicate that autism occurs in males four times more frequently than in females. Perhaps with the recent surge in the scope and reach of autism, these numbers may change in the future to reflect that more females are affected than previously thought. It’s often speculated that females, who are potentially able to adjust, adapt, and fit in with social and behavioral expectations more readily than males, may simply have better coping mechanisms with which to HIDE their autism.
Autism is considered to be a “spectrum disorder” because there is a wide spectrum of ways that autism can impact a person’s life and ability to function regularly. Diagnoses that are recognized as falling on, around, and/or near but not directly on the autism spectrum include autism (sometimes referred to by category as high-functioning, low-functioning, mild, moderate, or severe), PDD: NOS, Rett’s Syndrome, Asperger’s Syndrome, Savant Syndrome, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, language processing disorders, and others. Additionally, many people are recognized in a gray area, being identified with “autistic traits,” as “autistic-like,” or “showing characteristics of” autism.
Like snowflakes, no two individuals with an autism spectrum disorder are the same. The contrast in differences amongst people who share a diagnosis of autism but to varying degrees can be confusing and remarkable at times. Some people with autism have no speech or difficulty speaking, while others speak just like we do. Some struggle to feed, bathe, and clothe themselves, while others are joyful mothers and fathers who manage these tasks for themselves and a family of children. Social impairments can vary greatly, from preferring total isolation for one, to struggling with workplace social norms for another, to playing on a little league team with joy and pride for still another. Some are unable to tolerate the feel of a scratchy wool coat on their skin, the nuisance of fluorescent lighting, or the crunch of a tortilla chip instead of a soft, smooth food texture. Then there are others who throw that same wool coat on everyday, work diligently under fluorescent lights at the office, and come home to snack on anything crunchy! This mesmerizing whirlwind of contradictions IS the enigma of autism…and it’s why getting intervention from professional experts who really KNOW autism and how to handle it specifically can be so very, very critical and valuable to those who have it.
There are lots of myths, stereotypes, and misconceptions about people with autism.
The widely recognized character “Rain Man” played by talented actor Dustin Hoffman is an accurate depiction of only ONE way out of MANY that autism can manifest in a human being’s life. Some people with autism are barely detectable in society as different from you or me, participating fully in the rigors and rituals of life as we know it….they are husbands, wives, teachers, scholars, and friends. Others, whose lives are more severely impacted by the implications of autism, maintain less typical behaviors in public and struggle to function with regular societal parameters. Regardless, there are many misconceptions that, if we are to be a warm, welcoming, and diverse society, we must learn to bury and release as ancient myths. Here are some of these misconstrued, stereotypical, blanket concepts.
MYTHS AND MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT AUTISM
