10 Things You Must Know About Autism
6. Autistic people may have a different definition of ‘normal’
Day-to-day sights and sounds that appear normal to anybody may seem unfriendly or uncomfortable to these people. The sound of a coffee machine, the light from the bulb or the whirl of a fan may cause discomfort or anxiety to these people without anybody realizing their pain. It is important for people around them to understand their behavior rather than wait for them to speak.
7. Autistic people find it hard to express their feelings
Their primary issue is that they can’t communicate well. So they may not be able to express when they are hungry or when they need a certain thing. Their vocabulary may not be sufficient to describe their requirements. Yet again, what they speak may sometimes not mean what they want, thereby leaving those around them to understand rather than ignore what they mean.
8. Autistic people can’t handle complex communication
It is important to communicate with them in simple sentences and look at them directly while speaking. For instance, they may not understand when you call out their name or talk to them from across the room. Instead, they would understand better when told the same thing while talking face to face. They do not understand idioms, puns and jargons, which could mean anything else. They only understand plain and trouble-free words.
9. Autistic people remember what they see
Not only must they be told what to do, they also need to be shown what to do, and that too, not once but several times, as they remember best what they see rather than what they hear. They have to be constantly encouraged, as they will give up easily at the slightest hint of frustration or annoyance on your part.
10. Autistic people need to be taught to socialize
Children with autism don’t play and interact with other children not because they “don’t want to”, but because they “do not know how to”. They only understand games with fixed patterns and repetitive movements. Other children must invite autistic children to play and understand their shortcomings, rather than expect them to learn overnight.
It is the constant and never-ending empathy and effort from parents, family, friends and surroundings that will help them get better equipped and hold the reins of their life themselves. They are not children with a “disorder”. Instead they are children who have a “different order”!
