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How to Support Someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Living as humans in an increasingly interconnected world, it is important for us to understand that people come from all walks of life, and their experiences can be vastly different from ours. We have to make sure that we are adequately trained and ready to interact and understand differences in people around us, in order to produce a more harmonious, loving world. In India, an estimate of more than 2 million people might be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is increasing within the population (Chauhan et al., 2019, 100). Therefore, it is important that we learn to support them and find ways to promote a more inclusive society within our communities.

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

In order to support people with autism spectrum disorder, we need to first understand what this disorder is. Autism spectrum disorder is usually presented on a spectrum, and it is difficult to generalize the whole experience of autism to specific characteristics of people. Steven Shore mentions, “If you’ve met one child with autism, you’ve met one child with autism”, meaning that each person experiences autism differently.

According to the DSM-V, people with autism experience:

  • Deficits in social and emotional exchange
  • Deficits in gestures, facial expressions, and other nonverbal communication
  • Stereotyped behaviors, such as repetitive movements
  • Resistance to a change in routine
  • Unusually weak or strong responses to stimuli, such as indifference to pain or a panicked reaction to a sound

These symptoms can be expressed in various forms, such as difficulties understanding social uses of language (e.g. sarcasm), difficulty maintaining eye contact and being withdrawn from others. There is no known cause of autism, and people with autism seek therapy to help them communicate and engage in social situations better, using applied behavioral analysis.

With the understanding of what autism is, it is important for us to know how we can care for people with autism. Disruptions to a change in routine affect them to a great extent, and with the onset of COVID-19, it has been even more difficult for children with autism to adapt to a new ‘normal’, which may cause frustration for many caregivers and people with autism alike.

 

How can I help?

  1. Sensory Information

Overwhelming sensory information or cues might cause people with autism to react negatively, as the information might be too difficult for them to process. Make sure to take caution that there are no strong sensory outputs present – e.g. bright lights, loud noises, strong scents and tastes. Recognize potential sensory inputs that may be affecting them, and try to modify these according to their preferences! You could also allow them to use their own headphones to drown out some noise, especially if you know that a place might be too overwhelming for them.

  1. Creating Routines

If you live with an autistic person, uncertainty in their day-to-day life may create anxiety. Offering them a routine and ensuring that they can follow it throughout the day can help restore a sense of normalcy in their lives and ensure stability. Individuals on the autism spectrum need reassurance and information about changes, so ensure that you try to value this before making changes in their routine. Autistic people would have experienced a major change in routine, especially with COVID-19, therefore, remember to check in on them and help them create routines to ease their anxieties.

  1. Honor their Interests

Some people with autism may have unique interests that are special to them. An autistic child I used to work with would come to me with stories about airplanes every single day. It is important that we listen to these stories and honor them, because it can be motivating to them as well, having someone share and relate to their interests. Do not think that it is unhealthy to imbibe in their ‘obsession’, rather it is empowering for them if you listen to them and understand them.

  1. Communicate Clearly

Do not use overly descriptive language as it may confuse an autistic individual. Instead, make your communication clear, direct and as concise as possible. Phrases such as “get it together”, or “cool beans” may not be well-understood by them, so remember to always check for understanding during the conversation as well.

  1. Be Patient and Understanding

Remember that no one person with autism is the same as someone else with autism, and therefore, each person’s experience could be vastly different. Therefore, it is always important that we remain understanding of their needs and help them adequately when they ask us for help. It could also be helpful if you read more on autism and do some research to aid them better.

Let’s ensure that we remain sensitive to others’ needs and understand where they come from, especially in these difficult times with the pandemic.

What do you think?

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Riya Rajkotiya

Beautifully Written

Riya Rajkotiya

Keep Writing

Nidhi Dahiya

Amazing article with informative concept. Keep writing

Leanne Rebelo

hello! you’ve covered a great deal, very nicely written. But although there’s no specific known cause, chances of having an autistic child increases with aged parents.

Jigyasa vashistha

this is great content .. keep posting! 🙂

Disha Dhage

Informative article

Disha Dhage

beautiful

Disha Dhage

this is great content

Disha Dhage

keep posting!

Disha Dhage

well written

Disha Dhage

amazing

Disha Dhage

nice

Disha Dhage

will share

Disha Dhage

keep up

Disha Dhage

perfect

Disha Dhage

amazing work done

Disha Dhage

Very interesting

Disha Dhage

Thank you for sharing

Disha Dhage

very informative

Jigyasa vashistha

lovely portrayal.. read it & feeling amazing:) keep writing!

Anmol Sidhu

Beautifully written article. It’s very informative. I would like to know more about the unique interests aspect of the article. Especially autistic people who show co-morbidity with say savant syndrome. You mentioned the uniqueness of the disorder, the quote that you used sums it up perfectly. Job well done.

Aditi Dhamne

Autism is a very critical and sensitive disorder and we all should be supportive of the people suffering from it.
Kudos.

Asmita Chakraborty

Well written.
Would love to know more about the etiology of the disorder.
Keep up the good work!

Hitanshi Sanghadia

Great article! Thanks for sharing.
Also, rewarding a good behaviour and scheduling a play time might help as well! 🙂

Riya Shah

A really insightful article on ASD. An important fact that was highlighted was that each one has unique and different symptoms and what might work for one might not necessarily work with the other. Also, for patients with ASD – they should be encouraged to play with their peers , and also be given small responsibilities eg- helping with household chores, going to market etc so that they can experience normalcy and are not treated differently. Also, the language used should be very simple and at the same time, visual cues in the form of pictures can be used. Also, since they can also be hyposensitive/hypersensitive to various sensory stimuli- tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular etc it is important to assess the child (referral to a professional- occupational Therapist) and accordingly their preferences should be incorporated in various routine and play activities. Principles of Behaviour Therapy can be used to help them learn various routines and activities. And initally, step by step a greater number of repetitions and positive reinforcements will be required. Also, parental counseling is important

Prathyusha

Good Article… I feel like it would be great if the source of this info was mentioned since it is a Disorder.

Prathyusha

Very useful tips on how to help someone with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Good one! Keep writing.

Mathari Kumar

Very helpful article about autism. Well explained about caregivers stress and also covid-19 impact on them

Iglat Joseph

Well written article .. at certain points “autistic” is used.. please look into it as it is not okay to put labels

Ishita Pandey

ASD begins before the age of 3 and last throughout a person’s life, although symptoms may improve over time. Some children with ASD show hints of future problems within the first few months of life. In others, symptoms may not show up until 24 months or later.

poly

Hello Divyanandini ma’am nice to read your informative article ..with due respect for your work I want to add one suggestion to improve you more.
You can add more about their normal life and how they can deal with their normal life ..that will be much motivating for those parents who have child with autism.
Thank you.

Borenya

I found it very informative. Could you please add how it can be cured? Thank you!

Ananya Mishra

Asperger’s Syndrome is a very special illness to learn about. There are a lot of myths connected to this type of illness. I would really love it if you can do an extra reading on this. Also, i was looking forward to learn about every disorder that comes under the umbrella of ASD but overall this was an amazing article. Even though you have focused only on one illness, you have elaborated about it really nicely. 🙂 Loved it!

Neha Varur

Well written.
Add on :
Person with autism needs positive affirmation
Peer tutoring
Inclusive schooling
Most importantly, not labelling them
It takes away the child’s individuality

Jaya choudhary

A well explained article and and the concept is easy to understand , keep going ,

Sushmitha Subramani

Very relevant ❤️

Sushmitha Subramani

Superb write up. Important to spread awareness.

Rahat Dogra

It was a great reading this and yes after covid it’s not easy for children to cope up naturally. I would love to suggest add a lil bit more information related to this disorder rest everything is great

Jothishree

It was very informative .

At first they were grouped as 5types of autism
but autism is different for different person as it said in the article.

Eventhough different types of treatment is available not all will work for everyone .

Your article gave an overview of it.

The autism in detail is quite deep.

Nowadays it’s important to parents to be aware of this disorder.

The concept is so informative , the quotes and lines you have used perfectly finishes the good content.

urmi

interesting. however, could you elaborate about what comes under clear communication for autism? the point seems a bit general for all psychological disorders. how can clear communication specifically help someone with autism?

Akhil Nair

an article that covers exactly the content enough to understand AUD

Jigyasa vashistha

this is insightful, thanks for writing:)

Jigyasa vashistha

amazing!!

Dharani G Sekaran

autism is a topic which intrigues me the most and this article has all the basic information needed to understood….

Elysia Fernandes

Having a loved one who has Autism can definitely prove to be challenging. But all they need is a little extra love and care to feel protected. Great job on the article!

Jerry Joy Mathew

A well-written article which touches a lot of important points regarding people with autism while also explaining how each of it can be regulated or handled well. There seems to be a personal touch to it which makes the article so much better. The article starts and continues well till the end. I appreciate your work!

SUBHASHREE

The information about Autism are clearly written. The difference in each autistic children could be understood and they should be treated accordingly.

Shubhra Vyas

Very informative. And thank you for bringing such topic to light as till now many parents, friends and acquaintances of Autistic people face troubles as to how to support and tackle them. A little suggestion- As all the kids are different and may react differently to various supporting techniques, you can add more support strategies with some examples for better understanding. Well done covering the topic 🙂