Essay about How People with Autism Experience the World

Autism is a form of neurodevelopment disorder in the autism spectrum disorders. It is characterized by impaired development in social interactions and communication, both verbal and non-verbal. There is an observed lack of spontaneous acts of communication; both receptive and expressed, as well as speech impairments. A person diagnosed with Autism will also show a limited range of activities and interests, as well as forming and maintain peer relationships. The individuals will display limited interests, which are often very focused and repetitive. He or she is likely to be very routine oriented and may show behavioral symptoms such as hyperactivity, impulsivity, aggressiveness, and self-injurious behaviors.

Sensory perceptual issues are not part of the diagnostic criteria for autistic spectrum conditions. They are often overlooked and the difficulties they cause are attributed to other aspects of an individual’s autism. However, sensory sensitivity is an integral part of the lives of most people on the autistic spectrum and can have a profound effect on the individual and on those around them. Because of this it is very important to try to understand the sensory world of each individual with an autistic spectrum condition, however difficult this may be for a ‘neuro typical’ person. Wherever possible, it is important to get a sensory assessment, ideally carried out by a specialist.

     Autism is a developmental disability that affects all areas of behavior and perception. Approximately 10 out of every 10,000 children are diagnosed with autism and four out of five are males. Autism is the third most common developmental disability, more common than Down Syndrome. Children with Autism are characterized by impairment in several areas of development such as: Cognitive, Language, Play/Socialization skills and exhibit many challenging behaviors. Behavior Patterns of Autism:

Autism is a mental condition, which becomes apparent in the early stages of childhood. Autism is often characterized by the difficulty in connecting and establishing relationships with other people and in the use of language and intangible ideas. Autism is fast becoming a very familiar disorder. Many people across the nation have been trying endlessly to find a treatment for it. There have been limitless establishments which have been continuously trying diverse ideas and ways to bring funding for further research for Autism as well as bringing more awareness towards it. To become more familiar with Autism one should first understand what symptoms can be linked with autism. Some of those symptoms more common to Autism is difficulty with social interactions and relationships, verbal and nonverbal communication skills, and limited interests in activities or play. Although most of these symptoms can seem similar, Autism is continuously changing through the different stages of life; the childhood years, teen years, and adulthood.

Mastering social skills and interaction is a challenge for children living with autism. Autistic children often do not play with other children. Part of this is noticed during the early developmental stages of childhood. Autistic children are often referred as off in a world of their own, unaware of people or events around them. Children with autism have difficulties in verbal and with non-verbal communication, social interactions and leisure activities. Autistic children have sensory disorders that affect how they interact with objects and people around them. They possibly will experience sensitivities in the five senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. “Many children with autism have unusual sensitivities to sounds, sights, touch, taste and smells. High-pitched intermittent sounds, such as fire alarm or school bells, may be painful to these children. Scratchy fabrics and clothing tags may also be intolerable, and some children have visual sensitivities to the flickering of fluorescent lights (autism-society).” The lack of social skills can create behaviors in autistic children.

Perception refers to the process of taking in, organizing, and interpreting sensory data. Perception is multimodal, with multiple sensory inputs contributing to motor responses (Bertenthal 1996). In this paper, I will discuss the many differences between people with autism and the people without and how each person reacts to the same stimuli differently. I will focus on a teenage boy named Brandon, who has Autism, the parents have known that he had ASD since he was 16 months of age where they entered him into early intervention. Each person focuses differently on the perception of each thing in the world, but when you add a person with autism into the mix everything changes completely. When it comes to perception I believe that top-down processing is going to be the focus of this paper since, it has a lot to do with perception, that perception may start with the brain this includes a person’s knowledge, experience, and expectation.

Outline the condition of autism according to the triad of impairments and sensory issues, and briefly

Autistic infants often show little or no interest in other people and lack typical social behaviors. For example, they may not smile at their mother's voice or make eye contact with caregivers. Autistic children fail to develop normal relationships with their parents, brothers or sisters, and other children. Often they seem unaware of the needs and feelings of other people, and may not respond if another person is hurt or in distress. They also fail to make friends.

Autism continues to spark countless discussions and debates throughout the medical field. Some doctors believe that autism is a neurological disorder that can and should be treated, as others continue to think it is simply a difference in human adaption that needs to be nurtured and acknowledged. Regardless of what autism may be, it continues to dramatically rise in the number of children and families affected. With autism being based on such a broad spectrum, the affects and causes leaves the medical world searching for answers in unending stacks of research.

Normal children demonstrate social skills through vocational and expression. The normal child enjoys the presence of people and expressing themselves to other people. However, the autistic one has more interest in objects than people do. For example, a young autistic girl would be more interested in the arm and leg movements of a doll, whereas, a normal child would be fascinated with combing the doll's hair, dressing the doll, and talking to the doll. The young girl would perhaps imagine the doll as if it were a real human being. The autistic one has no concept of imagination.

They appear unaware of others ' feelings toward them and of the negative impact of their behavior on other people. Many children with autism engage in repetitive movements such as rocking and hair twirling, or in self-injuring behavior such as biting or head banging. They also tend to start speaking later than other children and may refer to themselves by name instead of "I," or "me." Some speak in a singsong voice about a narrow range of favorite topics, with little regard for the interests of the person to whom they are speaking. People with autism often have abnormal responses to sounds, touch, or other sensory stimulation. Many show reduced sensitivity to pain. They also may be extraordinarily sensitive to other sensations. These unusual sensitivities may contribute to behavioral symptoms such as resistance to being cuddled. Autism is classified as one of the pervasive developmental disorders.

The signs of autism vary considerably among children and as they continue to develop. Early deficits in social awareness and communication have a negative effect on the development of later important behaviors. A child who is not socially engaged and does not learn to communicate effectively is at a definite disadvantage in learning more complex and subtle social and communicative skills. Also, individuals with autism disorder have markedly different social and emotional actions and reactions than non-autistic individuals. For example, many autistic children do not seem to care whether or not they get attention from their parents. Many autistic individuals seem to have an impairment in one or more of their senses. This impairment can involve the auditory, visual, tactile, taste, vestibular, olfactory (smell), and proprioceptive senses. These senses may be hypersensitive, hyposensitive, or may result in the person experiencing interference such as in the case of tinnitus, (a persistent ringing or buzzing in the ears). As a result, it may be difficult for individuals with autism to process incoming sensory information

Autism is a developmental disorder that affects brain functions and impairs an individual’s ability to communicate and interact with others.

The concept of autism covers a range of disorders that affect communication skills, socialization and empathy of the person. The autistic have a personality turned in on itself in a pathological way. Mainly characterized by a deficiency in social reciprocity skills, verbal and nonverbal communication, symbolic play and a restricted range of interests and motivations. It is defined with multiple etymologies and varying degrees of severity.

Jason's Introduction: In 1943, a psychiatrist by the name of Leo Kanner discovered a difference in the brains of some children. He called it autism. Hi. I'm Jason South. I’m an 18-year-old cartoonist. You may not be able to tell, but I have high-functioning autism. My parents have always described me as someone who is "in between neurotypical and autistic". Autism is a neurological disorder that often affects the ability to socialize. It also affects the senses. For example, autistic people may lose focus easily, go on and on about a narrow subject of interest, not realizing others may not share the enthusiasm, and not understand that other people have different thoughts. As far as the sensory stuff, certain