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Informative Speech On Autism

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Good morning, potential donors. I have come here today to inform you all about ASDs, and more importantly about the amazing programs that Autism West offers to treat them, with life-changing results.

According to Aspect Australia, ‘Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects, among other things, the way an individual relates to his or her environment and their interaction with other people.’ 21.7 million people are on the autism spectrum worldwide, including almost 230,000 Australians.

This word, ‘spectrum’, describes the range of difficulties that people with autism may experience and the degree to which they may be affected. Autism being a spectrum disorder means that some people with an ASD may be able to live relatively normal lives, while others may have an accompanying learning or cognitive disability, meaning that they’ll require continued specialist support.

The main areas of difficulty for individuals affected by an ASD are communication, social interaction, and restricted or repetitive behaviours and interests.

People on the autism spectrum may also have unusual sensory interests such as sniffing objects or staring intently at moving objects, be hypersensitive to certain stimuli, leading to the avoidance of everyday items such as leaf blowers or vacuum cleaners, or struggle with intellectual impairment or learning difficulties.

People on the autism spectrum are affected by either one or several disorders that fall under the ‘ASD umbrella’. Such disorders include Autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, Childhood disintegrative disorder, Rett’s Disorder or Pervasive Developmental disorder.

ASD’s are diagnosed using the DSM V, the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals. The diagnosis criteria for autism falls under five headings outlined in the DSM.

The first of these headings is persistent deficits in communication and social interaction across multiple contexts. These deficits are manifested by the following symptoms, currently or by history:

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal conversation; to reduced reciprocity of interests, emotions, or affect;

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