World Autism Awareness Day is one of the UN’s seven official health awareness days and 2022 marks the 15th annual autism awareness day taking place on April 2nd  

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that impacts communication and how day to day life is navigated. Those on the autism spectrum have difficulties with changes, experiencing emotional meltdowns and sensory overload.  As well as sometimes having a challenging time communicating and interacting with others. 

 

Every year the world is encouraged to focus on celebrating the achievements of individuals with autism so that acceptance becomes a priority. 

 

Some achievements made by famous autistic people throughout history:  

 

Anne Hegerty. You might know her from the game show, “The Chase” and for her appearance on “I’m a celebrity get me out of here” in the show she spoke about how she has Asperger’s, in fact, Hegerty was not diagnosed until much later in her life at 45. She has said on many occasions that she doesn’t like people who say she ‘battles’ with her diagnosis and has said, “The point I would make is that I don’t battle with autism – which is simply my personality – but I battle with people who don’t consider what accommodations I need.” 

Benjamin Banneker. Known as a naturalist, mathematician, astronomer, and almanac author, Banneker has also been said to be the first African American scientist. Making a profound impact to science including his predictions of the solar eclipse on April 14th, 1789. Many professionals and others on the autism spectrum have said that Banneker might have been on the autism spectrum, although it is hard to say as nothing was known of autism in the 18th century.  

Dan Aykroyd. Aykroyd is a comedian, producer, musician and writer, best known for his role in the Ghostbusters franchise “I also have Asperger’s, but I can manage it. It wasn’t diagnosed until the early Eighties when my wife persuaded me to see a doctor. One of my symptoms included my obsession with ghosts and law enforcement — I carry around a police badge with me, for example. I became obsessed with Hans Holzer, the greatest ghost hunter ever. That’s when the idea of my film Ghostbusters was born.” which has spiralled into endless amounts of success. 

Greta Thunberg. 19-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden has become one of the many leading faces of the climate change movement, after she decided to go on a school strike for the climate, sparking a global movement of around 1.6 million people across 133 countries. As well as being known as the face of the climate change movement, she has also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on many occasions and challenges world leaders to take immediate action against climate change. It was announced that Thunberg was diagnosed with Asperger’s and has said, “I have Asperger’s and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And – given the right circumstances – being different is a superpower.” 

Jessica-Jane Applegate. Winning a gold medal in the London 2012 Paralympic Games in swimming for team GB and later on continued to impress the para-swimming world when she won 3 more medals in Rio. Applegate has won a total of 16 gold, 17 silver and 12 bronze medals throughout her swimming career on all levels. Adding to this was her performance made in the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games where she won gold in the mixed S14 4x100m freestyle relay and bronze in the S14 200m freestyle.  

Questlove. If you have ever heard of or watched “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” then you would have recognised Questlove on the drums, in the band “The Roots” In his memoir, “Mo ‘Meta Blues” he talks about how his parents took him to see if something were wrong, but autism wasn’t a common term back then, sharing what growing up was like as an undiagnosed autistic kid with a passion for music and turntables. A passion that led him to be the success he is today and the success he has had within the music industry.  

Satoshi Tajiri. Growing up Tajiri had a passion for arcade games, he began to write and edit a fan magazine known as “Game Freak” which later led him to pitching his game to Nintendo… Pokémon! Tajiri has said that he sees his Autism as an enhancement for learning, which has helped him to create plans about something he is passionate about and, in this case, it led him to the worldwide success of Pokémon.  

Why having special interests are important for autistic people?  

Special interests can begin during childhood but can also be picked up later in life, these interests can vary from being a huge fan of a particular tv show to having a fascination with ambulances or really enjoying painting.   

“Autistic people are individuals. We are not all maths geniuses, we don’t all like trains. I am hopeless with technology and much prefer painting. There is no ‘typical Autistic.’ But I think we probably all like being respected and validated.” Jeanette Purkis 

These interests are important to autistic people as they bring them a lot of joy and passion. Such interests have the potential of shaping someone’s whole life and creating positive impacts on relationships/friendships, education choices or career choices.  

They also have the potential of creating change, just like they have done for the people mentioned above.  

“I might hit developmental and societal milestones in a different order than my peers, but I am able to accomplish these small victories on my own time.” Haley Moss 

Autism in adults and children 

As autism is a spectrum people could be diagnosed with one of several separate conditions, which could include Rett syndrome; Asperger’s syndrome; Autistic disorder; Childhood disintegrative disorder; Kanner’s syndrome or Pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified. 

It’s important to note that even though Asperger’s syndrome was quite common before 2013, the term is no longer used by medical professionals and has since been reclassified as level 1 autism. However, many still use this term to identify themselves.  

Symptoms of autism spectrum disorder appear differently between ages but also between genders. A lot more men and boys are diagnosed with autism, however this isn’t always down to it being more common in them. Autism presents itself differently in girls and women, making it harder to spot, for example autistic girls may be quieter or cope with social situations better.  

Autism in children 

Symptoms of autism in children appear differently according to age. Some symptoms in children can include: 

• Not smiling when you smile at them (younger) 
• Finding it hard to say how they feel (older) 
• Not responding to their name (younger) 
• Difficulties making friends or prefer to be on their own (mainly older) 
• Having a very keen interest in certain things/topics (mainly older) 

• Not talking as much as other children (younger) 

Autism in adults

Symptoms in adults include:  

• Seeming blunt, rude, or uninterested in others when not intending to 
• Difficulties saying how they feel 

• Having the same routine every day and getting very anxious if it changes 
• Finding it hard to make friends or prefer to be on their own 
• Finding it hard to understand what others are thinking or feeling 
• Getting very anxious about social situations 
• Noticing small details that others may not 

Stimming, masking, and sensory overload  

Stimming can look like head-banging, hand-flapping, rocking, jumping etc and is often done for enjoyment, to deal with stress or anxiety, putting thoughts back into order or reduce sensory input to name a few.  

Masking is known as a survival strategy to be accepted by society in places where autism is not welcomed or understood and a lot of the time this is nearly everywhere. Masking can become a tiring and overwhelming experience although it often helps autistic people avoid being harassed at work or school for example.  

Masking looks different from person to person and is most likely done by women. Masking can include behaviours such as:  

• Hiding or minimising personal interests  

• Mimicking gestures of others 
• Scripting conversations 
• Forcing or faking eye contact during conversations 
• Forcing themselves through intense sensory difficulties such as loud noises or extremely bright lights 

Sensory overload happens when getting more input from the 5 senses than your brain can sort through and process, which in turn makes someone become extremely overwhelmed. Sensory overload can happen to anyone, but is commonly paired with the autism spectrum.

When an autistic person becomes overwhelmed, they may experience a meltdown, which is when someone temporarily loses behavioural control when overwhelmed by the environment they are in/situations they are facing. This results in someone crying, screaming, or running away, to name a few.

Symptoms of sensory overload include: 

• A sense of discomfort 
• Difficulty focusing  
• Extreme sensitivity to clothing or other textures 
• Becoming easily overwhelmed or restlessness  

• Experiencing an increase in stress or anxiety  

 

Ways you can support people on the autism spectrum 

As said above people on the autism spectrum struggle with sensory issues, so, here are some ways you can help towards making it easier:  

 

• Don’t insist on making eye contact, if struggling with it, it can be useful to focus on another part of the face to look at   
• Using headphones as ear protectors  
• If clothing is uncomfortable, find ways to make it easier e.g., cutting off labels   
• Finding a good place to sit or stand (this can be done in advance)  
• Making others aware of the importance of smell  

 

Other ideas include: 

• Allow thinking time for processing verbal information   
• Check for understanding   
• Beware of information overload   

• Reward appropriate responses   
• Encourage interaction   
• Develop ‘scripts’ for certain situations  
• Promote age-appropriate behaviour and why it is important   
• Listen and ask questions  

• List specific instructions   
• Encourage planning   
• Make it clear where the start and finish of activities are   
• Make stress buster strategies a priority   
• Create opportunities/times to discuss feelings   

• Be clear about what is expected   

 

A lot of misinformation surrounds autism and it can be hard to navigate the world and society when it doesn’t understand you. Something that people with autism know too well. Too much of the time autism is misunderstood and seen as something that is bad so when people dismiss the way others go through life and the emotions they feel simply because they do not understand, it creates a feeling of isolation and neglect from general society.  

We can’t see each other’s brains; people shouldn’t deny any experience someone is living just because it is different from their own 

“I don’t want to be a genius or a freak or something on display. I wish for empathy and compassion from those around me, and I appreciate sincerity, clarity, and logicality in other people. I believe most people—autistic or not—share this wish. And now, with my newfound insight, I’m on the way to achieving that goal. I hope you’ll keep those thoughts in mind the next time you meet someone who looks or acts a little strange.” John Elder Robinson, Author of ‘Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s’