Jake's Struggle With Autism

Let’s say you have a box of crayons. It represents ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), now inside the box you have different colors of crayons. Each color/crayon is a different disorder. The color we want to talk about today is teal, the official color for autism. Stuart Duncan once said, “Autism, like a rainbow, has a bright side and a dark side and even though it can mean rough waters it can be beautiful.” Autism isn’t a label, it’s a diagnoses. People with autism can be just as successful as neurotypical people. People with autism have been the subject of stereotypes and neglect for decades. Only in the last 150 years or so have things started to change. We don’t know what causes autism, but thanks to increased research and awareness we’re making more progress than ever. People with autism face many challenges everyday, autism is a spectrum. It’s not the same for everyone. Due to it being a spectrum it can be hard for people without autism to understand the challenges autistic people face, and how to go about interacting with autistic people. There are lots of autistic people worldwide, it’s time we start making them feel more like people.

Autism, a developmental disorder is becoming widely diagnosed here in the U.S. and throughout the world affecting children in all different types of backgrounds. From children living in rural or urban, rich or poor. Currently there are many speculations and superstitions as to the causes for developing autism but science has no clear evidence as to why autism affects certain people and not others, autism can greatly affect the families and its patients for their entire lives. Most of you do not know that I have twin younger brothers with Autism. Before this speech, I had no clue what autism really was. Through my research I am now able to relay this information to you. Today I want to talk about Autism. The three things I will be speaking about is what is Autism? How does autism affect the family and how does autism affect people who have it?

“Work to view my autism as a different ability rather than a disability. Look past what you may see as limitations and see the gifts autism has given me…Be my advocate, be my friend, and we’ll see just how far we can go” –Ellen Botbohm, author of Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew.

Understand how autistic spectrum conditions can impact on the lives of individuals and those around them

Autism is a developmental disorder, which is characterized by a dyad of difficulties in a) communication and social interaction and b) restricted interests and imagination (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might find it challenging to understand what other people think or what the reasons for their behaviours are, as their ‘theory of mind’ may not be well developed (Schuwerk, Vuori & Sodian, 2015). It is possible that this is why they might behave in socially inappropriate ways, being unable to differentiate between different contexts, while they might also find it difficult to make friends. Moreover, it is likely that they are fond of routines, repetition and structure (Carnahan, Musti-Rao, & Bailey, 2009), as they might be nervous with unknown, new situations. In addition, some of them might not do eye contact with other people, whereas some others might not endure to be touched and might have a difficulty developing speech (Jordan, 2005). Individuals on the Autism Spectrum might sometimes be prohibited to initiate conversations and might struggle with finding different ways to play and behave, due to the possible deficit of imagination, which in some cases might result in them having a narrow sphere of interests. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this group of people is rather heterogeneous, as characteristics of autism may differ from one individual to another (Gwynette, 2013). Another point is that people with Autism

There is no doubt that raising a child with autism is challenging. There is endless research on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) but a very limited amount on the costs and benefits of caring for a person with the disorder. In order to gain a comprehensive perspective on the biggest challenges parents and caregivers of autistic children face, a look into the private lives of these families and close networks is necessary. The only way to give support and provide the much needed services required to help, one must ask them what the most difficult parts about managing autism are. Below examines three of the most common struggles these families face when trying to understand and help their autistic children develop into the capable people they are certainly able of becoming.

In the area of social interaction, the individual is often withdrawn from others. They lack the ability to comprehend facial expressions and the actions of others are confusing. Many individuals with autism lack interest in social interaction. There is a lack of imagination and

Sam displays autistic tendencies all throughout the movie. Autistic characteristics include inappropriate social interaction, compulsive behavior, persistent repetition of words or actions, giving comments that have no connection to the current conversation, and overly trusting or being unable to read the motives behinds peoples’ actions. During the movie, Sam exhibited all of these signs of autism. In one scene, Sam accidentally causes a lady to spill her coffee. He then tries to remove an ice

When reading the first chapter of Ten Things Every Child with Autism wishes you Knew by Ellen Notbohm, multiple thoughts ran through my head. I honestly feel that she did an excellent job expressing the thoughts about autism. In my point of view autism is so much more than a diagnosis. Two important people in my life have autism and honestly, they are the most amazing individuals I have ever met. The authors words that brought tears to my eyes was, “My autism is part of who I am, not all of who I am” (Notbohm 17). This statement moved me, because individuals with autism are so much more than a label. Individuals that have autism are talented, intelligent, caring, kind, and funny. We should not judge or treat an individual different by the way they express themselves. Each individual is unique and should be able to express themselves in their personal way instead of being labeled in a negative way. I have personally encounter individuals use words such as, “that autistic boy” or “just leave him other there, he doesn’t understand the material because he is autistic”. When I hear people says these negative things, it makes me angry and sad, because I believe that they have not fully comprehended the diagnosis as well as not allow themselves to get to know

This show tries to provide insight on autism, however, the information is given in a humorous, insensitive way. The audience is taught minor details about individuals who have autism, but, the way that the material is presented could influence viewers to approach an individual with the disorder inappropriately or offensively. Most episodes are sure to include details that reveal Sam’s difficulties with everyday situations. Just like many people, Sam wants to find someone to establish a relationship with. After realizing that having autism does not ruin his chances, Sam is more open to the idea of finding someone.

Autism Speaks. (2012). The Federal Response to Autism. Retrieved June 17, 2012, from HYPERLINK "http://www.autismspeaks.org" http://www.autismspeaks.org.

Have you ever felt misunderstood or isolated from the people around you, just because you’re different from them? In Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, the main character and protagonist, Christopher Boone, is a 15 year old boy who struggles to cope with the effects of Autism. Although Mark Haddon never directly expresses that Christopher has autism, it is very easy to realize that Christopher is different than most people. And because of that, and through Christopher’s self-narration, readers are quick to realize that he struggles with Autism. When a person has Asperger’s Syndrome their skills are different than people without Asperger’s Syndrome. In the novel, Christopher Boone is accurately portrayed as someone with Asperger’s Syndrome by him having social impairments such as repetitive routines, trouble with social interactions and socially inappropriate behavior, and always feeling the need to have a logical reasoning and explanation for the events in his life. This is often is found in people with autism (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). Other reasonings to prove that Christopher has Autism include, the need for trust and the inability of showing emotion.

Autism is becoming more prevalent in today’s society than it was in previous years. As more children are being diagnosed on the spectrum, more families are being impacted. As a result, more siblings are being overlooked and their needs are not being

Life, Animated offers an honest examination of the emotional toils faced by autistic individuals and their support system, but ultimately delivers an inspirational and uplifting message about the value of family and perseverance in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity. 2a. Owen demonstrates behaviors that adhere to the initial set of criteria in that he shows “persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts.” He shows difficulty in maintaining “normal back-and-forth conversation,” as demonstrated in one of his therapy sessions with the social thinking evaluator, who has sought to improve his ability to converse outside of the neat lines of Disney dialogue and carry on a reasonable flow of conversation. At the outset of the documentary, the Suskind family explained that as a child he expressed abnormalities in eye contact, and even as a young adult his therapy staff indicated irregularities in body language, such as his tendency to tuck is chin downward and plow ahead without raising his eyes.

For many Autist people love is a very hard concept to understand it is not concrete and it is hard to describe. In the movie Autism in Love it showed the difficulty of letting walls down and trying not to get hurt or taken advantage of. However, for Owen Disney continues to be his guide he uses the emotions and directions that he gets from watching these movies. He uses them to let his girlfriend know that he loves her and that he will spend every day remembering what a treasure she is. He understands love and understands the important connection to the other person.