DAY 2 –

Focus on…

AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Reminder

of schedule

Today, speech by one of our employees,
Niall, on his daily life with an autistic child.

Meet in « K’Fêt »at 3.30 pm

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Focus on... AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDERS

A neurodevelopmental disorder affecting interpersonal relationships

Recognised as a disability in 1996, ‘typical’ autism is now part of a wider group of disorders known as ‘Autism Spectrum Disorders’ or ASD. By also encompassing pathologies such as pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) or Asperger’s syndrome, this terminology better reflects the wide diversity of situations.

Appearing in early childhood, ASDs result from abnormalities in neurological development and persist throughout life.
They are characterised by :

Impaired social interaction :

People with autism seem to have little access to others and have difficulty making contact with other people in their environment.
People with autism have difficulty understanding social conventions, such as saying ‘hello’.
They do not seem to understand the feelings and emotions of others. In reality, they feel emotions like everyone else, but express them in different or different ways (laughing when sad, for example), sometimes with greater intensity.

Restricted, stereotyped and repetitive repertoire of interests and activities :

Tendency to repeat the same phrases incessantly, repetition of behaviours or attitudes (always doing the same thing, always playing with the same toys, etc.) body rocking, hand flapping
Misuse of objects by lining them up or spinning them endlessly (play style)

Verbal and non-verbal communication disorders :

Failure to understand and use abstract terms.
Some of them do not speak at all, and many autistic people have difficulty to enter into a dialogue.
Difficulty recognizing and producing facial or non-verbal expressions.

Unusual sensory reactions :

These people, who often seem indifferent to the outside world, can paradoxically be extremely sensitive to it : light, physical contact and certain smells can trigger very strong reactions of rejection.

They find it very difficult to manage all their senses at the same time.

In fact, it seems that feeling and thinking simultaneously are complicated for autistic people. Either they feel and are then overwhelmed by their emotions and cannot put them into perspective, or they think and therefore have no space to express the feelings that arise.

Reluctance to change

an unpredictable or unplanned situation may provoke a reaction of anxiety, panic or anger.

Eating peculiarities

many people affected only eat foods of a certain colour (or refuse to eat a particular colour), texture or temperature.

Associated disorders

sleep disorders, psychological disorders (depression, anxiety), learning or attention/hyperactivity disorders, epilepsy, digestive and dental disorders….

These particularities are often the cause of difficulties in learning and social integration.

There is no cure for autism, but treatment tailored to the child’s needs will improve his or her ability to interact with and adapt to the world around him or her.

This multidisciplinary, individualized care is a process that evolves with the child, then the adolescent and the adult. Because autism persists throughout a person’s life, care must ‘follow’ the patient.

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Strong points

Although people with autism present particular difficulties or delays in several areas of development, some can also reveal exceptional skills. People with autism :

Do not know how to lie or manipulate, for the most part.
They are very respectful of rules and duties, and are very objective and logical thinkers.
They are very meticulous, perfectionists in everything they do, methodical and persevering, whatever their level of autonomy or intellectual ability.
People with autism can display exceptional skills in a variety of areas:
Remarkable success in performance and visual recognition tasks (such as puzzles, finding a shape like a triangle in a complex drawing, re-situating a small part of an image on a large picture, etc.)
Astonishing drawing and music skills
Exceptional memory
Special skills in non-verbal reasoning (logical deduction), visual-spatial perception (reproducing a pattern, finding one’s way back).

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AUTISM IN FIGURES

700,000 people in France

or 1% of the population 1st signs: between 18 and 36 months

An increasingly well-diagnosed disorder:

1 in 3,000 children in 1970 / 1 in 100 in 2017

80%

do not attend school

80%

have eating disorders

80%

have sleep disorders

1996:

Autism recognised as a disability

Question 1: 700 00

This represents 1% of the population, or 1 birth in 100.
Of these, only 0.5% work in an ordinary environment.
Yet autistic people can be real assets to companies: they are very meticulous and rigorous, passionate about their work, and have cognitive abilities that are sometimes out of the ordinary, with great powers of concentration and memorization.
Often incapable of realizing their strengths, they have great difficulty selling themselves in an interview.

Question 2: What are the symptoms of autism?

Hypersensitivity to certain noises or lights.
Distinctive speech.
Repetitive behavior patterns.
Eating peculiarities.
Difficulties in social interaction.

Question 2: More boys than girls

Today, boys are considered to be 4 times more affected than girls.
This prevalence is probably underestimated in girls, as their symptoms are often more discreet and expressed differently. Their restricted interests are less pronounced, and therefore more socially acceptable.
Likewise, girls tend to compensate by mimicry, often falling through the cracks.