Autism - a lifelong condition

With grateful thanks to the  National Autistic Society  for their help in compiling this article.

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability affecting the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Some people have accompanying learning disabilities, others have average or above-average intelligence.

Children with the more narrowly defined condition of childhood autism develop language later than typically developing children, and some may remain non-verbal. In contrast, children who have Asperger’s syndrome develop language at the same time as other children, but their language use is often unusual.

Autism is characterised by impairments in three areas: social interaction, communication, and imagination (shown in difficulties in the development of play, flexibility of thought, or restricted or repetitive interests). This ‘triad of impairments’ is found in varying degrees and forms, so the concept of the autistic spectrum has been developed, and the term autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) covers a wide range of abilities and disabilities, including childhood autism at the less able end of the spectrum, to Asperger’s syndrome at the more able end. Autistic spectrum disorders are not rare; it is estimated that about 1 in 110 people have an ASD.

How ASD affects people

Language development

Children with the more narrowly defined condition of childhood autism develop language later than typically developing children, and some may remain non-verbal. In contrast, children who have Asperger’s syndrome develop language at the same time as other children, but their language use is often unusual.

They may use rather formal words and phrases, which make them seem old-fashioned and different from their peers, or they may speak in a stilted or monotonous way.

Social interaction 

The difficulties in social interaction pose very particular problems.

Children with an ASD find it difficult to read social cues and non-verbal signals about what other people are feeling. For instance, a person with an ASD may not be able to spot when a companion is upset, angry or bored.

They come across as lacking in empathy for other people’s feelings, which could be interpreted by someone not aware of their disability as wilful self-centredness. Children with autism may show no interest in what other people are doing and avoid joining in games with their siblings, peers or parents. Their parents often describe them as being engrossed in a world of their own. Children with Asperger’s syndrome, on the other hand, often show a desire to be sociable, but their attempts to make friends may be thwarted by their lack of comprehension of the social nuances of negotiating friendships.

Routines

People with an ASD often say they like ‘sameness’. They dislike things that upset their routines, bec...