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Informative Speech About Autism

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Think about how you feel when you have to give a presentation in school; how you feel when you have to hug people, or how you feel when the power goes out at home. For an autistic child, these things that seem normal can be their worst nightmare. A few months ago I started babysitting an eight year old autistic boy named Callum. Some cases of autism are much more severe than others, and Callum happened to be on the more severe side of things. He was such a sweet boy, and the short time I spent with him opened my mind immensely, it even made me a less judgemental person altogether. In a way, my experience has made me want to inform others on autism because I have noticed that not many people understand it. It is one of the fastest growing disorders in the United States. Sometimes, when people would ask what I did as a job, I would tell them I babysit Callum, an autistic boy. Often times, their response to that would be, “what even is autism?” Autism is basically a developmental and mental disability, except it can go a lot deeper than that. It impacts how a child communicates, it affects their feelings and their social relationships, and most importantly their behavior. One can usually see the signs and symptoms by the time a child is around two or three years old. Most autistic children don’t like any changes in their regular routines, and they don’t like to be around unfamiliar things because they don’t understand it. It is hard for them to express how they feel. All cases of autism are different, though. With Callum’s case, he couldn’t talk very well but could tell me words or show me what he specifically wanted. When he needed to use the bathroom he could say “potty,” when he wanted a snack he could say “cookie,” when he was being too loud I could tell him “quiet mouth” and he would understand. Surprisingly, the very first time I met him he was all over me, being very sweet and loving. Although Callum’s case is severe, he is a very unique child. I have seen him do some very cool things, and he thinks nothing of it. There is a ball that he always has in his hand, he can stare at me and bounce the ball on his hand for minutes at a time, without ever looking at the ball. This is related to one of the effects

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