What is Autism?

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism” Stephen Shore, 2018.

Autism affects people in many different ways, both positively and negatively, hence why it’s called a spectrum condition. Callum, who was diagnosed with autism at 8 years old, for example, excels in recalling dates and events of a specific topic but struggles with his brain processing in communication. Other autistic persons will not have exactly the same strengths and challenges as Callum. This guide describes the different strengths and challenges an autistic person may face daily. It’s also important to note that there is no fixed mold for how an autistic person would or wouldn’t behave. Autism is still currently seen as more problematic than advantageous, and we will cover the challenges first.

Potential Challenges for an Autistic Person

Difficulties with Social Interactions

By far, the most cliché challenge that autistic people can have is forming meaningful relationships in social settings. The reasons for this can include:

Disliking small talk
Having different interests from others within their age group
Difficulties in reading body language and other forms of non-verbal communication
Finding it easier to talk about fewer subjects related to their main interests

Repetitive Behaviours

An autistic person may adopt the following repetitive behaviours:

Keeping to a rigid structure or routine at work or school
Repeating certain movements, such as hand flapping, rocking or excessive fidgeting
Wearing the same colour or style of clothes
Travelling to work or school in the same way each day

Unexpected situations or changes in routines can be distressing for an autistic person. They may use the repetitive behaviours listed above to keep themselves as calm as possible in an overwhelming situation.

Extreme Anxiety

Social situations or an unexpected change can be very overwhelming for an autistic person. Two types of anxiety that an autistic person can have are as follows:

A meltdown is when an autistic person loses control of their emotions in the event of an overwhelming situation. A meltdown could easily be mistaken for a tantrum. However, a person having a tantrum is in full control of their emotions and usually engages in such behaviour to achieve a set goal. However, the contrary applies to an autistic person having a meltdown, and there is no set time for when a meltdown can end.
A shutdown is exactly the opposite of a meltdown. It means that an autistic person becomes completely unresponsive in the event of an overwhelming situation.

The following scenarios can be very overwhelming for an autistic person:

Unfamiliar social settings
Unexpected changes to their routine
Intense frustration built up over a long period of time
Being exposed to low-key repetitive noises such as eating noises or keyboard typing noises (this is a condition called Misophonia and also known as Sound Selective Syndrome)
Unsuitable room conditions

Potential Strengths of an Autistic Person

Recalling Dates and Facts of Specific Topics

An autistic person may have one or multiple interests that they may focus on intensely. Thus, they have the potential to become experts in that field as they research the subject for hours. For example, Callum’s interest in Formula One began when he was four years old and, as a result, spent lots of time studying the sport. He can recall all the names of the world champion drivers for each year from 1950 to the present as well as the date and racetrack where a memorable event occurred. This type of interest is called a specialist interest. An autistic person can have a specialist interest that’s related to a certain subject at school, course at university or job role in the workplace. This can be advantageous for teachers and employers as their autistic student or employee may be able to solve a particular problem in this area in a fraction of the time it would take anybody else.

Honesty, Reliability, and Punctuality

An autistic person may have stronger feelings and emotions towards a particular situation or person. This is called hypersensitivity. If they experience hypersensitivity, it’s very likely that they would want to treat someone the way they would want to be treated. Callum, as a hypersensitive autistic person, values honesty, reliability, and punctuality as that is what he would expect from someone else. This could be for a business meeting, catch-up with friends or a date. Being honest, reliable, and punctual is a strength in personal and professional settings.

Structure

While keeping to a rigid routine or structure may have its drawbacks for an autistic person, it can work in their favour too. Structure can help an autistic person to organise their daily tasks and cope with any unexpected challenges. Callum plans for the following day the night before so then he has more time to process the tasks that are ahead of him. If any unexpected situations arise throughout the day, he uses structure to compartmentalise the steps in his mind so then the change in his routine becomes less overwhelming. However, keeping to his structure does give him a sense of fulfilment and therefore, he has the discipline to complete each task regardless of the situation to keep hold of that feeling.

Resilience

Most autistic people have to deal with setbacks and challenges throughout their everyday lives. A situation or task that may be considered easy for a neurotypical person can present a major challenge to an autistic person. Combined with society’s expectations of certain behaviours, this can be highly demotivating and sometimes distressing for autistic people. However, most have developed coping strategies to get back up every time they were “knocked down”. This can make them extremely resilient and teaches them to grow through adversity.

Summary

Each person with autism is different and therefore defines autism in their own way. Whether you are a teacher, lecturer, colleague, or employer, it’s important to ask your autistic student, colleague or employee about their individual strengths and challenges. Alternatively, if they don’t feel comfortable about disclosing their autism, mention the strength or challenge you’ve noticed without mentioning autism. Then, ask them if there’s anything you can do to help them overcome their challenges. Using positive language is another important factor here too. Hopefully, this guide has helped you to better your understanding of autism. But being aware of autism is only half the battle won. If you’re a parent or teacher, you need to know the early signs of autism in children. If you’re a university lecturer or employer, you must know the signs of autism in adults. You can get started by getting an insight into the mind of an autistic person through Callum’s first-hand account in his book. Once you know a lot of the signs, you can begin your journey in accepting the behaviour of a diagnosed or undiagnosed autistic person who you know.