What is Autism?

Hey guys! This is the first edition of the Autism Blog. I will do my best to explain what Autism is, different kinds of Autism, obsessions, my experiences involving Autism, etc.

Here are some definitions of Autism from Dictionary.com

".A pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in social interaction and communication, by an extremely limited range of activities and interests, and often by the presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviors."

".a tendency to view life in terms of one's own needs and desires."

".a pervasive developmental disorder of children, characterized by impaired communication, excessive rigidity, and emotional detachment."

There are different forms of Autism.

High Functioning Autism: This is the Autism I have. It's a mild form of Autism also called Aspergers. We can socialize with people, go to college, basically live a normal life. However, we also have Autism traits. For example: We may not pick up on social cues, cannot tell if a person is joking or not. We may also have bad posture, a robotic voice, show only one facial expression while we walk (always smiling or always having a scowl, etc.) Plus, we may have unusual interests and obsessions. For example, we may know a lot of things on one particular subject like baseball, or a television show. We may have unusual obsessions in objects like lamp posts or the shapes of trees.

Low Verbal Functioning Autism: This group of Autistic people can speak but often they can't form complete sentences. They can communicate well and interact with other people but they can't speak fluently and the signs of Autism loom larger in these individuals.

Low Non Functioning Autism: These autistic individuals cannot speak. They can't form words, even when they are adults.

The big question is how do you know if your child has Autism? People with Autism usually have no reaction to noises or people around them when they are toddlers. They act as if they are deaf. Autistic people usually don't utter their first word until they are 3-5 years old, if they are able to talk. Their first word is usually not "mama" or "dada." It's random stuff like "umbrella", "Nintendo", "Two", "light pole", etc. If you have a toddler who has no facial expressions and is non-reactive, take him to the doctors to evaluate him. The sooner he is diagnosed, the sooner he can be helped. Special Education Classes, Speech Therapy, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, etc. can help your child become high functioning or at least develop some verbal skills and social activity. Even people with High Functioning Autism don't have social skills handed to them on a silver platter. Sometimes we have to learn specific things, the hard way.

For example: Your first crush, how to handle a friendship, how often you should visit that friend without overexposing yourself, etc. A lot of people wonder, what causes Autism? The thing is, no one really knows for sure. I think genetics contributes to it since my brother and I have Autism. I know a person who has four siblings with Autism. Vaccine is also a popular theory. Then we have the "Mothers that carry babies drink alcohol while pregnant" theory. Let me tell you, that claim is false. I knew that from the start. Thankfully reports are now saying alcohol has nothing to do with Autism. Yay!

Many great people are rumored to having or had Autism:

Einstein, Bill Gates, Robin Williams, etc.

People with high functioning Autism are stereotyped as being geniuses. I hate to say it, but I'm not a genius. However, Autistic people have great knowledge of one specific random thing. I'll explain mine in a future blog post. Autistic kids are prone to having major tantrums, especially in public places. Many passersby will think "what a spoiled brat, that parent is a bad parent" which is not really true. Autistic people (at least the low functioning ones) wear their emotions on their sleeves. When they're happy, they express it in outer-emotion. If they are sad or angry, they unfortunately express that in outer emotion too. The kid with Autism usually throws tantrums even when he or she reaches his or her early teens. Once he or she gets older, the person will not throw tantrums too often, if at all. Then again, each child is different.

1 out of every 110 people born is diagnosed with Autism. One person is diagnosed with Autism every 20 minutes. Boys are four times more likely to have Autism than girls. Autistic people hate loud noises. At least when they are young. They have sensitive hearing. They may hate thunderstorms, fireworks, and other loud noises. I hated thunderstorms and fireworks when I was younger. In fact, I was terrified of them.I don't mind them at all now that I'm older. They may grow out of it when they get older.

People with Autism may have trouble doing mechanical things like, riding a bike, tieing shoes, or driving. We may also be clumsy and not good at playing sports. I have trouble with the stuff mentioned above but I do love to play sports and have had some success from it. People with Autism may talk differently. For example: instead of saying "put the microwave on" I say "activate the microwave."

Well, that wraps up the first edition of the Autism Blog. Next Week, I'll analyze my history of Autism like growing up with it, how I found out I had Autism, starting the Utica College Autism Awareness Club. I will also explain my unusual interests growing up, my unusual hobbies, and knowledge.

"The Power of Autism!"