Autism is a lifelong condition that influences the strengths and difficulties that people have within them.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition which means that a person is born that way because of differences in their brain. Autism is not something that can be ‘caught’ and it does not develop later in life. Lots of people do not get diagnosed as Autistic until they are older though, because sometimes the signs of Autism are not always easy to spot, or the signs often get mistaken for other conditions.
Autism impacts three main areas of development, and people have both strengths and difficulties in these areas:
- Language and communication style
- Social development & play
- Special interests, repetitive behaviours and sensory needs.
What are the signs of Autism?
No two Autistic people are the same because every human being is unique, and we all experience the world in very different ways. This means that not every Autistic person will have every single Autistic trait, or, two people with the same Autistic trait may experience and show it very differently. There are lots of signs that a person may be Autistic, and this list does not cover everything. To find out more about whether you or a family member might be Autistic, please click here and complete our enquiry form.
- Finding it hard to understand what others are thinking and feeling
- Getting very anxious about social situations
- Preferring to be alone
- Finding it hard to express emotion
- Taking things that people say literally
- Having the same routine and becoming distressed if this changes
- Feeling uncomfortable with eye contact
- Noticing small details/patterns that other people do not see as quickly
- Having keen and specific interests
- Saying things that upset other people without meaning to
- Having sensory sensitivities. For example, hating bright lights or certain sounds, disliking certain foods because of how they smell or feel when chewing, and/or difficulty wearing certain types of clothes because of how they feel on the skin
- Fidgeting with hands or fingers in a repetitive pattern (this is different to ADHD, click here for specific information about ADHD).
Why should we pay attention to Autism?
The UK Government suggests that there are around 700,000 children and adults in the UK with a diagnosis of Autism. This is not the true figure because many people are either misdiagnosed, not assessed at all, or they are sat on very long waiting lists, where it will take years to find out if they are Autistic or not.
We also see great gender and race differences in the official numbers of Autistic people. This does not mean that Autism only affects certain groups of people. The official numbers simply tell us that Caucasian males are three times more likely to be put forward for Autism assessments than any other group of people. At For-Psych we are committed to bridge the gender and race gaps and give everyone the opportunity to know themselves better.
If we do not recognise and understand Autism, an Autistic person can experience many additional difficulties in their life. They may not get the support that they are entitled to, they may be prescribed medication that is not working because their difficulties have been wrongly labelled as something else, they may face preventable challenges in school or the workplace, and they may have low self-confidence or self-image confusion.
We often see Autistic people develop secondary mental health problems such as Anxiety, Depression, and suicidal feelings, because they do not understand why they experience difficulties in their social interactions with others. This is why we are passionate about helping people to understand who they are. If you or someone you know is struggling because of a neurodevelopmental condition, For-Psych can help with this. Please click here to read more about our Coaching and Therapy services.