What is autism?
Autism is a highly heritable neurotype, often first seen in childhood, that impacts a person in varying ways through their lifespan. It is one of many possible neurotypes affecting how people perceive, understand, communicate, and experience the world.
It is often characterized by differences in brain function that impact behavior, in social interactions and communication, sensory processing, focused interests, and repetitive behavior.
At the Centre, our understanding of autism is guided by a neuroaffirmative approach. We consider autism as a natural variation in human neurology. It is not a disorder or pathology that needs to be "fixed." As such, our assessments value neurological differences and the heterogeneity of the autistic experience.
What do some autistic adults experince?
1. Social Communication and Interaction
- Making conversation: conversation less likely to flow back-and-forth flow; enjoys talking about own preferred topics or topics of shared interests.
- Making or maintaining close friendships: finds it easier to communicate and relate to those who are not peers; prefers friendships with other neurodivergent adults.
- Non-verbal communication: neutral use of facial expressions; minimal use of gestures and social cues; interpretation of others’ emotions through observing body language varies.
- Sarcasm or idioms: interprets language literally.
2. Restrictive or Repetitive Behaviors
- Thought patterns and behaviors: preference for routines, familiarity, and predictability; shows strong emotions to change and uncertainty.
- Repetition: preference for repetitive movements, vocalizations, or use of objects such as rocking, repeating words, or patterning/sequencing objects; uses repetition as a means of self-regulation.
3. Sensory Processing Issues
- Over-responsivity: reactivity such as developing a head when smells lemon; feels pain when lightly touched.
- Under-responsivity: reactivity such as not hearing a car approaching; not getting dizzy with excessive spinning.
- Sensory fixation: fascinated by certain repetitive movements, sounds, smells, textures.
4. Interests and Activities
- Interest in specific topics: having a deep, focused interest, or passion engaging with interests; engaging with interest repeatedly.
5. Strong Ability:
- Attention to Detail: noticing details and patterns that others might overlook.
- Memory: retention and recall of large amounts of information, often in specific areas of interest.
- Logical Thinking and Analytical Abilities: approaching complex problems in a structured, systematic way.
- Pattern Recognition: identifying and interpreting patterns, trends, and connections.
- Honesty and Reliability: having a strong sense of responsibility, honesty, and fairness.