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If you want to do right by your autistic kid (or any autistic person, really), then please do your best to understand and respect these eleven factors about being autistic. From this article, but this is also a thread:
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2017/04/eleven-ways-you-can-make-your-autistic.html #Neurodiversity #autistic #autism 1/
http://www.thinkingautismguide.com/2017/04/eleven-ways-you-can-make-your-autistic.html #Neurodiversity #autistic #autism 1/
(1) Processing Time: Almost every #autistic person I know has their own rhythm and speed at which they process information. In my son's case, this means giving him a few beats to respond, rather than impatiently assuming he didn't understand what was said. 2/
Other processing scenarios include relying on captioning for comprehending videos or movies—even for those who can hear—or needing to record & re-listen to lectures. Disregarding processing needs can lead to #autistic ppl having their abilities or comprehension underestimated. 3/
(2) Visual & Auditory Processing: #Autistic people often process visual & audio input faster, or with greater intensity. Sometimes this means "super hearing," as in being able to detect—& act on—parents' whisperings re: hidden cookies, from several rooms away. #Neurodiversity 4/
Sometimes this means overhead lights flicker distractingly or painfully in ways non- #autistic people don't notice. And sometimes, kids who can't screen out overwhelming sights or sounds on their own end up doing poorly or even melting down in classroom or other settings… 5/
…because they're using all their energy to cope with torrential sensory input—instead of learning, or being able to communicate. Noise-canceling headphones, and non-fluorescent lights are just a few options to make home and classroom environments more #autistic-friendly. 6/
(3) Sensitivity to Barometric Pressure: I don't need to consult http://Weather.com or my Dark Sky app to know if rain is approaching, because my son will usually have already let me know that his head hurts due to the barometric pressure change. 7/
Autistic people often report being more sensitive to barometric pressure than their non- #autistic peers; in some cases, the pressure change can trigger migraines. So if your child gets distressed any time a storm comes in, consider that they may be in pain rather than scared. 8/
(4) Heartburn: If your child has a hard time going to/staying asleep, or is going through an agitated patch, consider that they may have heartburn/reflux. This hurts like hell, gets worse upon lying down—and is usually easy to treat with OTC meds (but consult a doctor first). 9/
Treating my son's heartburn has genuinely improved his ability to fall asleep, as well as his quality of life—and is but one example of how what is dismissed or assumed to be #autistic "behavior" can actually be a reaction to an undiagnosed medical condition. #Neurodiversity /10
5) Stimming: Flapping hands, flicking a straw, chewing on a silicone tube—these are all examples of the kinds of "stimming" that can help #autistic kids entertain themselves, regulate themselves, or cope with being overwhelmed—& which serve beneficial and legitimate purposes. 11/
But since stims can be perceived as odd or undesirable by non-autistic people, great effort is often put into blocking or "extinguishing" such stims (and not just in #autistic kids, by the way—behavioral suppression is also being used for kids with ADHD.) 12/
Healthy or self-regulating #autistic stimming needs to be understood and accepted, and is different from repetitive self-injury, distress, or aggression. (See @durrsten on self-injurious stimming/SIBs: https://kirstenlindsmith.wordpress.com/2016/02/05/the-dark-side-of-the-stim-self-injury-and-destructive-habits/) 14/
(6) Echolalia: #Autistic kids will often repeat phrases, words, or scripts. Echolalia can be functional communication, similar to the way a subset of Gen Xers considers lines from the movie Caddyshack perfectly acceptable responses during casual conversation. 15/
Echolalia can also be a form of verbal stimming: it can be reassuring and/or self-soothing to repeat phrases either to one's self, or in a call-and-response fashion with other people. Yet parents, teachers, and therapists often try to squelch or redirect #autistic echolalia. 16/
So if this attempted squelching of functional/self-soothing #autistic echolalia happens, just say no. And then say it again! *rimshot*
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(7) A Serious Need for Chill Time: Autistic people get overwhelmed by the world. So when your kid comes home from school, an outing, or even after spending time with you, be sure to give them all the downtime they need. 18/
Be sure to give your autistic loved ones space to process, reintegrate themselves, stim, watch favorite videos—however they indicate to you that they best decompress. 19/
Chill time is especially crucial as #autistic kids tend to be highly scheduled, with therapies & other activities that require more energy than expected of non-autistic peers. Think about it: no kid whose energy reserves are completely drained is going to be at their best. 20/
(8) Face Blindness, or Prosopagnosia: Face blindness is a real thing for many #autistic people, though its degree can vary. (Agnosia in general is an autistic thing, actually—difficulty differentiating between shapes, smells, buildings, individual cats.) 21/
Try to help your face-blind #autistic child compensate: Teach them to recognize people by traits besides faces, and be aware of situations that may stress them out, like meeting up with friends or acquaintances, or recognizing teachers or aides. #Neurodiversity 22/
