Autism

Okay, I made this topic because I am curious to know more about Autism and because I want to see what the people here know about it...

The main things I want to know are:

How much does Autism effect one's ability to think?

Does Autism effect one's ability to focus/concentrate?

Does Autism effect one's ability to do things such as playing videogames?

How much does Autism effect one's ability to learn Daily Living Skills and Social Skills?

And how different is an Autistic Person compared to a Normal Person?

The Discussion Begins Now...

 

I have a form of Autism, and I shall try to answer those questions.

 

Talk about a discussion, when all you do for starters is to ask some questions :P

Anyway I think people with autism are usually talented in something. I dont know about the stages and types of autism though. I know one kid, who had autism and he was very stupid. Maybe 11-year-old, but was like a 3-year-old. I wonder how his world was alike. Would be very interesting to get into someones head who, unlike Blitzball, has a strong case of autism.

 

True. Many people with Autism act younger or older than their actual age.

 

i always thought autism was good.
i mean kids seem alot smarter at a young age, now im not sure...

 

Autism is in some ways good, but also in some ways NOT good. For example, many Autism are extremely good in one thing, while people without Autism May be slightly less good at it but are also good at stuff in which the Autistic person is less good in. Still following me? Don't really know how to put this really, I just recently discovered about my Autism ._.

A lot of people with Autism have really noticable tics. These can be common tics, like nailbiting(a lot of people do that) or fingercracking(I do that a lot). Some are really unusual, like looking at the door the moment someone walks in, or making weird faces while making assignments.

People with Autism are often really shy, and mostly avoid eye-contact.

 

The kid I know of wasnt shy at all. Maybe because of his young mental-age? You know most of 3-year-olds are not shy, because their self-awareness isnt developed enough.

I remember somewhat nasty things done to that kid. He used to eat every candy he gets. Those guys i.e. licked the candy, washed in toilerwater, throw into carbage and the kid would eat it and swallow it. Kinda nasty thing to do...

Nailbiting is really common among the non-autistic people too, so I wouldnt keep it as a sign of any sort.

 

It all depends on the severity - Autism is a spectrum, ranging from mild ADD at one end to almost complete non-responsiveness at the other. I, personally, have experience with both ends. I have moderate ADD and Asperger's Syndrome (another part of the spectrum). My social skills are almost non-existant - I have to work for years to make a real friend - and I have to constantly stay on top of myself to get even the simplest tasks done - homework, hygiene, etc. I take medicine for the double disability and have special privilages at college which allow me to get on-campus housing and no roommate (when others have 3 or 4) because I am mentally incapable of dealing with bills (at the moment) or living with someone unknown to me. Hell, I can barely tolerate my parents!

My youngest brother "Zach", on the other hand, has, or I should say had, a more severe form of it. When he was a baby, he was completely normal, learning to crawl, babble, etc. Then, he went in to get a series of shots which they hadn't given him earlier (I forget why). He got 3 courses of shots, all containing small amounts of Mercury. Ordinarily, there is not enough to matter, but the concentration of him triggered an onset of severe autism, rendering him completely nonverbal and only barely aware. I feel that, if he hadn't gotten those shots, he would end up like me - with mild ADD and/or Asperger's. My grandfather had it, and I think my father does. Instead, he went several years, learned to walk, only to start spinning in a circle constantly and banging his head against things (both autistic symptoms). He still couldn't talk. Finally, he was diagnosed, and my mother, being the incredibly stubborn woman she is, decided to research any possible treatments.

9 years and at least 30,000 dollars later, he is 14, and functioning at a 14-year-old academic level, and about a 9-10 year-old social level. His speech is still a little hard to understand if you don't hear it often, and he is still very immature (watches preschool cartoons, etc), but he is very much recovered. He is still on many medications and supplements, and on a gluten-free, casein-free diet, to stop the symptoms from returning (the gluten and casein get lodged in his brain and block his neurons).

It can be, in a limited sense, for instance, with my mild side of the spectrum, I was reading before Kindergarten and debating with adults at 13. But it has it's terrible downside - many autistic kids are completely unable to take care of themselves for the rest of their lives, and even more are unable to move away from home due to inabilities to handle parts of there lives (holding jobs, paying taxes and bills, etc). Even I find it hard to get hired, because of my monotone voice and uninspiring visage (I am also fat and have long hair, but those are basically unrelated).

 

I have an older brother that has Autism mixed with some other things, so I can probably help out and clear some things.

How did it happened? First off, he was premature. So then as he was growing up, he had to go see the doctor often. It was around ten months old that the doctors discovered he had a hole in his heart. So of course, he had to have open heart surgery. Something went wrong in the surgery (I think lack of oxygen), and as a result, he got brain damage.

My mom told me he use to be very verbal, and then he was really quiet weeks after the surgery. Now days, he does talk, but not in the way we would understand. He can't say words, but many of our family members reported that he did say a word or sentence to them once. And then he would never repeat it again.

He communicates with us by directing our hands to something he wants, or he brings something to you. Depends on the situation.

And he's creative in his own special ways. Like, he puts together these things our family calls dangles. He brings us tape, and odds and ends of what he thought was interesting (soda bottle labels, clippings of magazine, sheet music etc.) and then has us put it together for him. Then he carries it around and then adds more and more things to it that he finds unique to him. Then when he's finished with it, he ditches it, and starts something else that's new.

He acts like a little kid (watches Disney movies all the time, Sing along videos etc.), but that's fine with me. He also likes music and has us play CDs for him. Like band music, chior, orchastra, and sometimes Dinsey soundtracks.

He does go to school, but it has to be a special class for him. He's still learning how to take care of himself, like brushing his teeth and putting on his own clothes. And the classes also are set up to help his brain patterns work correctly again. Like pattern games, and puzzles.

Hm... it's just an awesome person in his own way. He's 18 years old, and he's a really happy, healthy guy... And the only friends he has are the aids and teachers in his class, and our family.

 

and he can turn on a light! and put the milk away! basically he's smart in his own way and can do things that even i can't! Autism people never frown and are always able to cheer you up. They teach you patience like you'd never know and can be great fun.

 

And, if caught early enough, they can become almost normal! See my brother in my post above. I think it is a better life when you can expect to move out and contribute rather than (no offense) be a very large 4 or 5 year old all your life.

 

I think my parents told me I have autism.
The main things I want to know are:

How much does Autism effect one's ability to think?
It kind of slows down my thinking a little bit. Sometimes when i'm in the middle of class and my teachers explaining something, it takes me about a few seconds to comprehend it. I also take forever taking notes. Another thing is when i read manga, i don't realize the teacher's talking.

Does Autism effect one's ability to focus/concentrate?
The manga thing from above. I also sometimes blank out during movies.

Does Autism effect one's ability to do things such as playing videogames?
Sometimes when i play games, i think to hard about it and sometimes don't understand. The hardest things can sometimes be hard.

How much does Autism effect one's ability to learn Daily Living Skills and Social Skills?
Doesn't affect me much.

And how different is an Autistic Person compared to a Normal Person?
They're pretty much the same, it's just depends on how patient the normal person is.

 

You may have a mild form, like mild ADD, but you're not full-on autistic. Trust me. Severe ADD and Asperger's Syndrome here - both on the spectrum. My social skills are nil, and all the rest of your responses are worse for me. I can focus on one thing extremely well, but at the expense of everything else. However, when I'm NOT focusing, I can hear EVERYTHING. I had to learn how to block out people talking/laughing/shouting/insulting me/etc in high school, after being suspended for about half of first semester.

 

That is completely me. I try to read a book while watching TV in my room, but i'm interested in both things; however i can only hear the movie and not understand the book. I can't focus on anything when there is some kind of sound.

 

I work with autistic children a fair amount. I'll try to tackle these questions for you.

1. It depends, really. I've seen some autistic children who are brilliant by anyone's standards, while I've seen others that have very serious mental handicaps.

2. On the whole, quite a lot. I have yet to see an autistic child who didn't have some kind of focusing problem. However, with proper teaching, as I've seen and implemented firsthand, these problems can be almost completely overcome.

3. It probably wouldn't have much effect, if any, unless they had a mental handicap that made it difficult for them to focus on the video game, etc.

4. Some autistic people have no social problems at all and can interact with others just like any other person would, however the autistic children I've worked with on the large tend to have some social problems. What these problems are ranges from being extremely shy to being off-the-walls energetic. But again, these problems can usually be overcome with proper teaching.

5. Autism generally doesn't cause very visible physical abnormalities, however, taken purely from a behavioral and emotional standpoint, it varies from person to person. You could meet an autistic person whose autism is so mild that they have very few mental or emotion impediments, so you would never think that they are autistic. However, some cases are more extreme wherein it'll be almost immediately noticeable.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that due to all the different types and degrees of seriousness of autism, there's no clear cut answer for any of your questions since every case is different in some way.

 

I'm not fully sure on those questions. My neighbors' cousin has autism. She's usually off in her own world all the time so it's hard to tell the differences with her and a "normal" person.

 

This is a great topic. I've actually gotten to know a few autistic individuals, very interesting experience.

Autism seems to affect one's ability to think completely. Either directly or indirectly through physical and emotional needs.

Autism can affect one's ability to concentrate, if it is severe enough. If it affects the person's attention-seeking attributes, it will likely affect the concentration a lot.

The video games one, I'm not sure. lol That's a good question. It is possible, I think.

Depending on how severe the autism is, it can affect the person's learning curve entirely. The personal needs aspect is largely inflated for an autistic individual (either extroverted or introverted). Of course they could also be completely normal in appearance, you just won't know about the problem until getting to know them or talking to them at first. That's how it was for a few people I knew that had autism, anyway.

 

I have Asperger's Syndrome...

When I was younger I was Insanely Hyperactive, Random, Plainspoken and I was VERY energetic...

I had very little self-control, My Social Skills were almost non-existent, And I was almost incapable of being embarrassed...

And I'm also Hygienically-Challenged...I only bathe like once a week usually...I almost never wash my hair...and I only brush my teeth at night...if it weren't for my mother I wouldn't even remember to do it at all...

And I'm also fat with long messy hair...plus I have pale skin from lack of exposure to sunlight...

I guess it's pretty obvious I have a form of Autism huh?

 

People with autism often repeat things they say once or twice in a row. They also focus on shadows and moving objects harder then normal people do. They have to focus harder to learn, and I've heard people say the same things that scare animals scare autistic people, though I don't know if they are right.

 

Some people with Autism have that. Though not all.