ASD

What Is Autism?

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects a person’s ability to make sense of the world and relate with others. Autism comes from ‘autos’, the Greek word for ‘self’, and a person on the autism spectrum is often referred to as someone who lives in a world of his own.

How Are People Of Different Degrees Of Autism Understood?

Autism is known as a spectrum condition as no two persons diagnosed with autism are the same. They may differ in the interaction of 2 key dimensions:

• Severity of Autism

• Intellectual Ability

Any person with autism may have differing degrees of autism as well as intellectual abilities. This helps us understand that any combination may exist and we must not make assumptions that high autism always implies low ability or vice versa.

Every person with autism is to be understood so that we can find the best way to support them and help them better adapt to the community.

Support For Young Children

Children with autism often require intensive instruction and practice in the core skill areas of social interaction, communication, thinking and self-help, and independence. Research suggests that early intervention is very important. Specialised early intervention can give people the skills necessary to lead meaningful and productive lives.

Most interventions are aimed at helping children with autism access learning and independence. While there is no known ‘cure’ for autism, children can be helped, especially if their autism is diagnosed early in life. Various types of early intervention for autism and other developmental conditions exist and may be available to you. SGEnable, an organisation dedicated to enabling persons with disabilities has compiled a list of services. 

Support For Students & Adults

Some students with autism will be able to learn new skills with their peers in mainstream school with specialist support. Others will need to have more specialised learning environments to learn in a more individualised way with the time and opportunity to practise and apply the skills they have learnt in many functional ways.

As a person with autism enters adolescent and adulthood, there is a continued need for support, education, and guidance. Typically, ongoing services are required to help the person with autism to:

• Develop social safety and problem solve every day experiences

• Negotiate higher education options, meet work productivity demands, and achieve vocational skills through job coaching

• Develop daily routines, public survival skills, and understand and comply to social rules and expectations

• Develop skills in planning, organising, and extending leisure pursuits

• Develop positive relationships with others

• Understand and cope with sexuality issues

• Manage stress and anxiety