Information on Autism & Asperger's Syndrome
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)
ASD is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates, relates to others and to the world around them.
People with an ASD experience three main areas of difficulty known as "the triad of impairments" these are:
Impairment of Social Communication
This is where an individual has problems with understanding non-verbal communication such as facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice and other aspects of body language. Sometimes people with an ASD may also have problems in understanding verbal communication. Often they will have very concrete thinking and therefore will not undersand a figure of speech in its context but will only understand the literal meaning.
Impairment of Social Interaction
People with an ASD may have difficulties in knowing how to relate to other people. They might appear aloof, indifferent to others, non responsive and to have little interest in most forms of interaction with others.
Impairment of Social Understanding and Imagination
This can lead to very inflexible patterns of thought. People with ASD may not be able to understand that other people are individuals who have their own attitudes and points of view. They can therefore appear self-absorbed or egocentric.
It can also make individuals with an ASD fearful of the future and new experiences which leads them to cling to familiar routines and surroundings.
Often people affected by the triad of impairments find the world a confusing and frightening place. This can cause them to feel very high levels of anxiety which can lead them to act unpredictably or unconventionally and can result in aggressive behaviour which they cannot control.
Individuals with an ASD may have problems with forming and maintaining social relationships, expressing what they feel, acting appropriately in social situations and understanding the complex social rules which govern everyday conduct.
Other features common to ASD are:
- High Anxiety
- Extreme egocentricity
- Hypersensitivity to criticism
- Heightened senses which can make the individual unusually sensitive to touch, sound, smell, light or bright colours
- Manipulative behaviours
- Tendencies towards depression
- Obsessive compulsive or ritualistic behaviour
- Marked fear of failure
- Lack of motivation
- Unrealistic aspirations
- Rejection of instructions and rules
- Discrepancy between social abilities and other abilities
- Speech and language peculiarities
- Narrow interests
- Motor Clumsiness
- Challenging behaviour
People with an ASD can have an accompanying learning disability but people with AS or HFA often have an average or above average IQ and relatively good verbal communication skills. They will however experience significant difficulties with social, occupational and other areas of their life.
