About Autism

Often, one of the first signs that a child might be Autistic is that their language and social skills develop differently to typically developing children. In terms of socialising and communicating, an Autistic child might:

• Enjoy playing alone as much as (or more than) playing with others;
• Play in ways that may appear unusual, like lining up toys, sorting toys into categories or types, or exploring different elements of toys;
• Be drawn to friends with similar interests, even if they are much older or younger;
• Prefer highly structured social interactions, like gaming;
• Need accommodations when using speech to communicate, or they may not use speech as frequently or fluently as other children to communicate. This is called “expressive language”;
• Need extra time when processing speech. This is called “receptive language”;
• Not show social interest in the way that is usually expected. This might mean they may not use eye contact or they may point to indicate that they want your attention;
• Use stimming behaviours like flapping, jumping, or spinning to express emotions and communicate. An example of this is “happy flapping” to show joy;
• Use frequent echolalia. Echolalia means the repetition, or “echoing”, of a phrase or words.

This is not a complete list, and your child’s developmental path is unique to them. Their experience will look different to other Autistic and non-autistic children’s.

These differences in Autistic children’s socialising and communicating are not “good” or “bad” – they are just Autistic ways of being in the world and interacting with it and other people. Autistic children do not lack “social skills”: they may lack non-autistic social skills, and may show organic, Autistic social skills instead.

Autistic adults are likely to be non-traditional communicators, both in expressing themselves and in receiving and interpreting communication. In terms of socialising and communicating, an Autistic adult might:

• Prefer honest, literal, and straightforward language and messages, and to focus on deep subjects rather than superficial “small talk”;
• Enjoy “infodumping”, or sharing detailed information on an area of passion or expertise;
• Use unexpected body language, like unusual eye contact or no eye contact at all, body positioning and gestures;
• Use echolalia, which means repeating, or “echoing”, of a phrase or words. An example of echolalia is regularly quoting TV shows, song lyrics, or memes;
• Rely heavily on pre-prepared scripts or messages, both to “fit in” with what is expected of them and to limit the potential for misunderstanding;
• Utilise other methods of communication to express themselves, including gestures, sign language, or Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC). AAC can be high-tech, like an iPad app, or low-tech, like a picture board;
• Gravitate to friends with similar interests, values, and communication styles, even if they are much older or younger;
• Feel more comfortable around other Autistic or other neurodivergent people;
• Prefer highly structured social interactions, like online gaming;
• Form quality friendships online, often more than “in person”.

You also may not notice any of these differences in the Autistic adults you know. This may be because many Autistic adults have learnt to “mask” or camouflage their organic and authentic Autistic social skills over time. Masking is often not a choice, but is a way to survive and to increase the chances of Autistic people feeling safe and included. Autistic people might mask consciously or unconsciously. Masking often takes a significant mental health toll on the Autistic person.

These differences in the way Autistic adults socialise and communicate are not “good” or “bad” – they are just Autistic ways of being in the world and interacting with it and other people. Autistic adults do not lack “social skills”: they may lack non-autistic social skills, and may display organic, Autistic social skills instead.

The way that Autistic children’s brains develop is different to their same-age, typically developing peers. Some differences include how Autistic children engage in their interests and how they interpret sensory input. In terms of thinking and processing, you might notice that Autistic children:

• Have a single abiding interest, around which all play, enjoyment and learning revolves;
• Have many, many deep interests, which can be all-consuming, even if they don’t last a long time;
• Display significant differences in the way they process information including sensory stimuli. For most Autistic children, sensory processing differences are complex and unusual responses to sensory input across the five main senses, but also including the vestibular/movement, proprioceptive/body awareness, and interoceptive/internal bodily signals systems;
• Are sensory seeking (seeking specific sensory input), sensory avoiding (also called sensory defensive, or avoiding specific sensory input), or  a combination of both;
• Display different sensory preferences in the way they experience or respond to food.

This is not a complete list, and a child’s developmental path is unique to them, so will look different to other Autistic and non-autistic children’s.

These differences in Autistic children’s way of thinking are not “good” or “bad” – they are just Autistic ways of being in the world and interacting with it and other people. Autistic children do not lack “processing skills”: they may lack non-autistic processing skills, and may display organic, Autistic processing skills instead.

Autistic adults are likely to have a different way of processing information, which can impact the way they understand and communicate information about themselves and the world. In terms of thinking and processing, an Autistic adult might:

• Be an “orthogonal thinker” (draw on ostensibly unrelated elements to inspire new perceptions and ideas, in contrast to “linear thinkers”);
• Show great attention to detail, or a desire to focus on the details – this is known as “bottom up thinking”, and it means wanting to understand details clearly first to define the big picture, rather than the other way around;
• Process and understand information very literally;
• Have defined, specific and very focused interests. These can be called “special interests” or SPINs in the Autistic community;
• Be able to “hyperfocus” on a task or process, and/or experience difficulty maintaining their attention on required tasks, or organising their thoughts and actions, unless they are able to “hyperfocus”;
• Experience differences in the way they transition. Autistic adults can find it difficult to begin something but equally difficult to stop that thing once they begin, especially if the task or process is not “finished” or “complete”;
• Structure their life into specific, predictable routines or patterns of activities;
• Quickly and easily notice patterns in the world around them;
• Have unusual responses to sensory stimuli compared to their non-autistic peers. These responses might include both seeking sensory input (e.g., specific touch or movement) or avoiding sensory input (e.g., smells, noises, textures).
• Experience co-occurring ways of thinking such as alexithymia (differences identifying/communicating emotion), aphantasia (differences with visualising/imagining) or dyscalculia (differences in understanding number-based concepts);
• Experience interruption to their ability to self-regulate and process information, depending on their changing environment or sensory needs (e.g., some Autistic adults describe feeling unable to think when their environment is too bright or too loud).

These differences in Autistic adults’ way of thinking are not “good” or “bad” – they are just Autistic ways of being in the world and interacting with it and other people. Autistic adults do not lack “processing skills”: they may lack non-autistic processing skills, and may display organic, Autistic processing skills instead.