Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder that covers three specific areas:-
Communication - ranging from being non verbal to having good language skills, but all variations with the spoken word as they interpret conversation literally but miss out on body and facial communication signals.
Socialisation - because of their communication problems , making social contacts is very hard and can lead to isolation and fear of crowds; but also this disability makes it difficult to make and maintain relationships leading to misguided trust being placed in the wrong people.
Imagination and thought - this makes it difficult for the person to make plans for their future and aspiring to things that we take completely for granted because they have the inability to understand another persons thought processes.
Aspergers Syndrome is a part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder but with the added quirkiness of people who have it, loving to collect anything from knowledge to material things. These people also seem to have a high IQ.
Then we have Savants - who are also on the Autism Spectrum - but who are highly talented in their very focused areas i.e being able to play classical or jazz music without lessons such as Derek Paravicini or doing quite spectacular architectural drawings of buildings to a professional draughtman's standard such as Steven Wiltshire ; you may also have heard of the film Rainman where Dustin Hoffman plays Kim Peek a Savant who is a genius in mathematics.
Of course there are many many variations on a theme in autism, some that add spice to life and many, where people need help and support throughout life.
If you enjoy what we provide, please consider making a donation.
