AUTISM AWARENESS

So, my niece is now eighteen and had autism since she was about three years old.

It was incredibly hard, at first because we didn’t know what was happening considering, she wasn’t born that way.

At age two, she was saying words like “mama” and was energetic like any child.

After a while, she became withdrawn, showing symptoms we didn’t understand.

We took her to the doctors, who recommended further testing and investigation.

It took some time for different medical health professionals, to come up with their diagnosis that she had autism.

Over the years, she developed other complications, including insomnia, epilepsy, and non-verbal and behavioural disorder, these are just some of her conditions.

This sounds frightening and challenging there`s no doubt about this.

But we`re still thankful that she`s mobile, eats well, and communicates in her way.

The thing is she`s smart, funny, lovable, playful, and adorable.

WHAT IS AUTISM

Being autistic does not mean you have an illness or disease. What it does mean is that the brain works in different ways from other people. Autism spectrum disorder(ASA) is a developmental disability caused by differences in the brain. An individual with ASD often has problems with communication and interaction and restricted or repetitive behaviour or interests. People with ASD also have different ways of learning, moving, and paying attention to things around them.

IT’S NOT CLEAR WHAT CAUSES AUTISM

It`s not clear what causes autism, or if it has a cure, according to the NHS website. It can affect people in the same family.so sometimes it can genetically be passed on to a child in that way. Autism is likely to have multiple genes responsible rather than a single gene. Having said that, it is not caused by emotional deprivation or the way a person has been brought up.

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AUTISM PEOPLE CAN HAVE ANY LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE

Some autistic people have average or above-average intelligence. Some will people have a learning disability. This means they may find it hard to look after themselves and need more help than others. More than one in 100 people are on the autism spectrum and around 700,000 are autistic adults and children in the UK.

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SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

Further knowledge on social communication as mentioned earlier: They may want to travel the same way to and from school or work. Wear the same clothes or eat the same food. Some are unable to speak or have difficulty with both verbal and non-verbal language like gestures or tone of voice. Extreme anxiety is a real issue for many autistic adults, particularly in social situations or when facing psychological and physical impact and their life including family.

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COPING STRATEGIES:

• Going for a long walk…exercise.

• Deep breathing.

• Sensory and fidget toys.

• These are just a few of many.

SERVICES:

• GPs and autism assessment team

• An occupational therapist

• A speech and language therapist

• A mental health specialist.

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