What exactly is autism?

[crimson_angel]

I personally remember as a child being acquainted with a child with autism--he could not speak and could only communicate by spelling letters on a card. Most of the time he seemed completely zoned out and oblivious to his surroundings, and would do strange antics like flap his arms wildly.

As far as myself personally now, as an adult, I am seeing a psychiatrist due to a series of emotional issues that is spilling over into my work and school life. To my shock, she said that she is weighing my symptoms between autism and Asperger's syndrome, but she'd like to see me further.

I looked up autism on Youtube and saw a woman who claimed to be autistic giving a completely coherent and logically constructed interview....now I'm scratching my head! What is autism then? I thought it was some form of mental handicap!

This is seriously messing with my head....can someone help me out?

 

[Bolletje]

Autism isn’t a handicap, it’s a brain that’s wired differently. It leads to processing information in a different way. For some people it comes with a lower IQ, but people on the autism spectrum can have normal or high IQ’s too.
Some people will need assistance their entire lives, others can live independently without any problems and “pass undetected” in society. Which is why some people with autism are diagnosed as adults without ever having suspected themselves to be on the spectrum.
There are a lot of stereotypes about autism, many of those are false.

Using myself as an example: I’m autistic. I went to university and got my medical degree. I work full-time as a doctor. Patient care is my day to day life. I have a lot of friends. I live with my long term boyfriend. I’m very much independent. And, as mentioned above, I’m autistic.

 

[Tom]

Aspergers is a type of autism. It is no longer used in the USA and instead they just say you are on the autistic spectrum. The spectrum is divided into low, medium and high functioning autism, which has to do with the amount and severity of the symptoms. With high functioning, an outsider, or even the person themself might not realize they are autistic, because it can be so close to NT (neurotypical).

 

[tducey]

I consider Autism to be an invisible disability but it's still there, affects people in different ways. I can sit down and have a chat with you no problem but can't drive a car or hammer a nail.

 

[Kevin1968]

It's a spectrum, some are severely affected, others less so.

Some are affected but have learnt how to "pass", so nobody notices, perhaps not even themselves!

(Some also argue that Aspergers is different from Autism, but that's another discussion)

 

[Nitro]

Hi crimson_angel

 

[Isadoorian]

Yes, as others have pointed out already, Autism is a Spectrum and the severity differs, and our minds are wired differently. Some can hear things others can't, or have an immense sense of detail, being able to see things others never really pay attention to.

I have a PDD-NOS, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified which is on this Spectrum, which is on the lower end of the said Spectrum.

Though I may at times look and sound like your everyday Neurotypical person, I do have my troubles. For example, I've always had issues with more Advanced Math in School such as Division and Fractions, and I also took a while to really Speak to others outside of my House or when visiting Family (a Speech Pathologist I was working with when I was younger, about 7 or so, thought I couldn't talk at all, though at the time I believe it was due to shyness).

I also had an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) throughout my School Years as well which would grant me additional resources like help within the Classroom via a Teachers Aide, or have some of my Tests modified so I could do them easier, or even take them in another room (such as a Resource/Special Education Room if the school had one) due to noise.

I also at times zone out and lose focus if things get loud enough, and get distressed by most things, like large crowds, or loud music if there's a Live Band playing, or even when it comes to Money and Time which I can get spazzy about

I'd also like to say Welcome to the Forums and I hope you find a better understanding of what Autism is, along with finding new friends along the way and enjoying your stay in the process

 

[George Newman]

Welcome!

 

[On the Inside]

I suspect no one knows what autism is, exactly, as it is a spectrum of traits not all of which are neccessarily present in all diagnosed cases, with varying degrees of impairment.

Over time I have gotten more comfortable with what autism means to me, though I do have trouble articulating that to others.

 

[Ezra]

I suspect no one knows what autism is, exactly, as it is a spectrum of traits not all of which are neccessarily present in all diagnosed cases, with varying degrees of impairment.

I agree 100%.

 

[SusanLR]

Yes, as others have pointed out already, Autism is a Spectrum and the severity differs, and our minds are wired differently. Some can hear things others can't, or have an immense sense of detail, being able to see things others never really pay attention to.

This is one of my traits that got me into trouble on the personality psych test which was part of the diagnosing. Statements like "I hear things other people don't" and "I often see things other people don't"
lead to the doctor thinking I was schizoaffective.
I said I could only answer yes or no on the test and to look at the answers through Aspie eyes.
A whole different meaning. Further tests proved ASD.

My differences were apparent at a young age around 3.
I had no desire to associate with other kids and had selective mutism when people came into the house.
Meaning I could talk, I just didn't.
Also I was high intelligence at an early age.

Sensory issues were a big part of my problems too. Clothes, foods, bedding, etc.
Rigid routines also.

I passed through life without anyone knowing I was HFA until late in life.
I knew how to put on the face to appear normal but was never comfortable with people.
So my intellect got me through and went on to become a pharmacist.
Wholesale, so I didn't deal with the public.
But, I never really functioned well in being independent or comfortable through life.

 

[Progster]

There's not set way to be autistic, in some people it is obvious, in others more subtle, so that unless you are trained to look for it, or you know them well, you might not realise the person is autistic - though to a neurotypical person, they may seem a bit 'off' or different. Many autistic people don't have a strong sense of self and aren't aware of how they come across to others, and may not even be aware that they have the traits. How they are feels normal to them but perhaps not to another person - they only know their normal and not what is normal to another person.

Just like NTs, autistic people can learn social skills, to be polite, to fit in, by observing others, by experience and by imitation. But we have difficulty, or differences in our processing of information/stimuli, which means that social interaction is difficult, because that requires one to focus on: facial/body expression, conversation, a speaker's mood, to anticipate a speaker's emotional reaction and be aware of social context... all at the same time... while being able to tune out background noise/stimuli... Plus, one needs to be aware of one's own body language and regulate/understand one's own emotional reactions... and know how to respond to other people's emotions... too much to take in and regulate at once, so we tend to miss things, such as micro-expressions, or other social subtleties that most NTs are able to pick up on and process intuitively. This is why many autistic people find it hard to socialise and often either don't speak at all or speak out of turn or speak too much, and often feel anxious... What is intuitive for most people is a conscious effort for us, and exhausting.

 

[Streetwise]

This is one of my traits that got me into trouble on the personality psych test which was part of the diagnosing. Statements like "I hear things other people don't" and "I often see things other people don't"
lead to the doctor thinking I was schizoaffective.
I said I could only answer yes or no on the test and to look at the answers through Aspie eyes.
A whole different meaning. Further tests proved ASD.

My differences were apparent at a young age around 3.
I had no desire to associate with other kids and had selective mutism when people came into the house.
Meaning I could talk, I just didn't.
Also I was high intelligence at an early age.

Sensory issues were a big part of my problems too. Clothes, foods, bedding, etc.
Rigid routines also.

I passed through life without anyone knowing I was HFA until late in life.
I knew how to put on the face to appear normal but was never comfortable with people.
So my intellect got me through and went on to become a pharmacist.
Wholesale, so I didn't deal with the public.
But, I never really functioned well in being independent or comfortable through life.

I've just realised when I put your mark That's as well as I can define it (meaning I decided it was informative )that I'm even autistic when it comes to trying to tell somebody on the forum what I think about their post ,there never seems to be a symbol for what I think .
I just realised post is what we call the mail in the UK , I would say I'm going to post something or I got something in the post and I've just remembered it's called the post office in the United States as well.
No I'm starting to suffer from verbal diarrhoea .

 

[Major Tom]

Autism is a huge spectrum of different difficulties, personalities, and issues. There is no way to give one definition of what it really is. The person you knew as a child was probably classically autistic. That is just one level out of many.

 

[Mary Anne]

Aspergers is a type of autism. It is no longer used in the USA and instead they just say you are on the autistic spectrum. The spectrum is divided into low, medium and high functioning autism, which has to do with the amount and severity of the symptoms. With high functioning, an outsider, or even the person themself might not realize they are autistic, because it can be so close to NT (neurotypical).

Aspergers terminology/diagnosis is supposedly to be removed in the ICD-10 following the DSM-5.

 

[Crossbreed]

Hello & welcome, @crimson_angel .

This is one of my traits that got me into trouble on the personality psych test which was part of the diagnosing. Statements like "I hear things other people don't" and "I often see things other people don't"
lead to the doctor thinking I was schizoaffective.

I did the same thing. When I noticed the direction that she was headed in, I quickly clarified that others can see and hear it, too, once I pointed it out to them...!