Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) describes a range of lifelong disorders that affect a person’s ability to relate to others and control their emotions. This makes social interaction a challenge. It is often caused by genetic predisposition.
It can affect a large number of skills such as communication, social interaction, sensory skills, motor skills and perception. It also causes repetitive behaviours, for example, hand flapping or rocking.
Although we see people with ASD as different, we must embrace them and help them grow. Most forms of Autism ensure that the person has a higher than usual aptitude in some area. We must help them identify their strengths. To sum up, Autistic author and academic Stephen M. Shore once said, “If you’ve met one individual with autism, you’ve met one individual with autism”.