Understanding Autism – why people with ASD do what they do….

Autism is a word that most of us have come across at some point in our lives.

For many parents that is because someone has mentioned it to them when raising concerns about the actions and behaviours of their child.

For many adults, it is something that may have come up when they are researching actions and behaviours they don’t understand about themselves.

When people come through our door we never know how children and adults will react to certain things we say or do, what aspects of their lives and behaviour they are concerned about…what makes them want to see us and talk to us.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

So when it comes to Autism Spectrum Disorder as a whole we know how difficult it is for those who do not have ASD to understand it.

And we cannot give you a definitive answer on exactly what you should expect to see with ASD, and exactly how to deal with it – we pull this out a lot we know BUT everybody IS different.

Families looking to find out more about ASD come across a variety of explanations:

Autism is a complex, lifelong developmental disability that typically appears during early childhood and can impact a person’s social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation.

But what exactly is it and how does it affect people?

The best answer we can give comes from Dr Lisa Williams. We asked her what advice she would give to those wanted to understand ASD.

“I would say get it from the horse’s mouth. Autobiographies of people with autism are a really good way of understanding how different people are affected – and the impact it has on their lives.“Listen to those with autism speak, at conferences and in interviews – read their books. I would recommend ‘The Reason I Jump’.”

Books and blogs

The book, written by Naoki Higashida, who is non-verbal, when he was only thirteen, uses a question and answer format where Naoki explains things like why he talks loudly or repeats the same questions, what causes him to have panic attacks, and why he likes to jump. 

We would also recommend Lautistic, a blog written by Laura Murphy about her experiences and the difference her diagnosis made to her. Laura received her diagnosis here at The Autism Service so we are avid readers of everything she writes.

We will stop writing now….so you can go and read…or watch…