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Today is world Autism awareness day.
The three main areas of difficulty which people with autism share are sometimes known as the ‘triad of impairments’.
Difficulty with social communication
Difficulty with social interaction
Difficulty with social imagination
We spoke to one local mum who told us about life with her autistic son:
“I suspected Josh was autistic from an early age, even as a baby he had minimal eye contact or interaction. I had worked with people with Autism for much of my career, so I knew the signs and as he got older, more became apparent.
Josh looks like any other little boy. He is a little stunner – Beautiful big eyes and shiny brown hair. If he passed you in the street, you wouldnt notice anything ‘different’ about him. Until there was a sudden loud noise or an unexpecred change in routine. A change in supermarket layout could cause Josh great anxiety resulting in overload, Joshs coping mechanism is to flap his hands and then cover his ears and scream. To a passerby, this can seem like a ‘tantrum’. I have had the looks and the ‘tuts’ I can honestly say that my son is not naughty, he just finds everyday life a little stressful sometimes.
Spend time with him and you will see that he is funny, gentle, loving and great company! Autism is just a small part of Josh.
Do not judge someone from the few minutes of their life you have witnessed.
So next time you see Josh or any other child having a meltdown in supermarket, dont assume its because they’ve told they cant have sweets or a magazine.
I can assure you, its much more distressing for them to experience that for you to witness”
To find out more about autism and Asperger syndrome, visit http://www.autism.org.uk/
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