Autism Spectrum Disorder

“I am different. Not less.” Dr. Temple Grandin

Autism affects how a person thinks, feels, interacts with others, and experiences their environment. Every Autistic person is different. Autistic people can display a wide range of unique characteristics. This is why autism is described as a ‘spectrum’.

Strengths
• Strong ability to absorb and retain facts quickly
• Direct communication style
• Think in a visual way
• Persistence, eye for detail, technologically minded
• Excellent memory for facts and figures
• Detail oriented with strong observational skills
• Intense focus on specific areas of interest leading to in-depth knowledge and high-level skills
• Methodical and analytical approach
• Can be innovative in finding solutions to problems
• Unique thought processes
• Deep interest in more broadly known areas like sports, Pokémon, movies and books as well as less common areas like geographic locations of capital cities and moving parts of different modes of transport
• Up to 20% of Autistic people have exceptional or above average skills in one or more areas such as reading, maths, art, mechanics, music, memory etc.

Communication
• Communicate honestly and directly
• A dislike or difficulty with small talk, sarcasm or understanding jokes
• Repeating words or phrases in a way that can seem out of context
• Not using or understanding gestures like pointing or waving hello and goodbye
• Using sounds, signs, gestures or pictures to communicate instead of spoken words
• Taking extra time to understand spoken information

Social
• Unsure how to engage with others or make and maintain friendships
• Uncomfortable and overwhelmed in loud, busy complex social situations
• Might prefer to play alone or next to others (parallel play) more than with them
• Difficulty reading and interpreting social cues and misunderstanding social interactions
• An ability to pay attention without making eye contact
• Using or responding to body language differently

Play
• Often times prefer to play alone
• Prefer play that is rule based and not pretend play
• May involve repetitive lining up of toys or particular focus on parts of objects, for example, spinning wheels on a toy car repeatedly
• Insistence on doing things the same way and may be distressed if interrupted
• More comfortable socialising through technology such as phones, video conferencing or online chats and games

Sensory
• Autistic people may be hypersensitive or hyposensitive, or a combination of both
• May be hypersensitive to loud noises, bright lights, certain sounds, smells, textures and tastes and be sensory avoidant
• May be hyposensitive and need constant movement, be attracted to loud noises and bright lights and have difficulty sensing pain or hunger and be sensory seeking
• May use stimming as a form of sensory seeking to keep their sensory systems in balance
• May be physically and emotionally exhausted managing sensory issues
• May experience sensory overload and be unable to talk, make decisions or process information

Thinking
• Autistic people think more in images than words
• May remember facts and trivia about very specific, niche interests
• Tend to find patterns in everything from music to design, mathematics and day-to-day lives and prefer routine and predictable patterns they can replicate
• Logical, quick decision making and excellent problem solvers
• An ability to focus on one thing for a very long time
• Difficulty with cognitive flexibility such as switching from one thing to another
• An ability to notice specific details, patterns or changes that other people are unaware of and a tendency to be bottom-up thinkers noticing “details before concepts”

Emotions
• Autistic people often find it hard to recognise emotions, facial expressions and other emotional cues like tone of voice and body language
• Difficulty understanding and responding to other people’s emotions and as a result may seem to lack empathy
• A strong, sometimes overwhelming, emotional connection to others
• Delay in learning to understand and regulate emotions

The exact cause of ASD is unknown; however, research suggests it is a combination of developmental, genetic and environmental factors. Families with one child with autism have an increased risk of having another child with autism and family members of a person with autism also have higher rates of autistic traits. There is also growing evidence that older fathers and mothers (over 45 years) are at an increased risk of having a child with autism (Autism Awareness Australia).

Early recognition as well as behavioural, educational and family therapies may reduce symptoms and support development, learning and well-being.