In a presentation on his autism research, Dr. Stephen Shore stated, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” Shore’s experiences with the autistic community provided him with insight on just how varied the experience of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is.
Autism Spectrum Disorder is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder found to in 1 out of 34 boys and 1 in 145 girls (Aspril & JH Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2020). Though ASD has been found to be underdiagnosed in women (likely due to testing bias toward male ASD characteristics). (Ratto et al., 2017). The condition is characterized by deficits in several modalities:
Social Interaction, Including, but not limited to:
- Difficulty controlling emotions
- Difficulty interpreting verbal/nonverbal social cues
- Difficulty with Theory of Mind (ability to make inferences about the thoughts and perceptions of others)
- Eye-contact
Communication, Including, but not limited to:
- Absence or latency in the development of speech
Restricted & Repetitive Behaviors/Interests, Including, but not limited to:
- Hyper intense interest in specific subjects
- Severe Distress from the violation of routines
- Self-injury
Sensory, Including, but not limited to:
- Heightened perception of senses (often leading to sensory overload)
- Motor dysfunction
- “Stimming” (a method of providing sensory relief by producing and modulating one’s own sensory output. Often seen in the form of rocking, clapping, snapping, or other movements)
(Park et al., 2016; Tager-Flusberg, 1999; Macro et al., 2011; Kokmaz, 2011; Kap et al., 2019)
Among each of these different deficits there is a wide variety in severity. In addition, individuals can have many different combinations of these experiences (although, most if not all, have a delay in communication). Now we want to make ourselves clear. We are not highlighting these “deficits” to satisfy your curiosity. We highlight these to show that ASD can result in a wide collection of varied experiences. You will undoubtedly encounter many people with autism in your life. By knowing some of the possible struggles they experience, you can develop understanding and be proactive in providing accommodations and support to ensure they receive the same opportunities to learn, work, and thrive that “Neurotypicals” naturally experience.
