What is Autism?

What is Autism 

Autism is a lifelong development disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Children and adults with autism have difficulties with everyday social interaction. Their ability to develop friendships is generally limited as is their capacity to understand other people’s emotional expression (NAS, 2005).

What are the characteristics of autism?

People with autism generally experience three main areas of difficulty; these are known as the triad of impairments.

• Social Interaction (difficulty with social relationships, for example appearing aloof and indifferent to other people).
• Social Communication (difficulty with verbal and non-verbal communications, for example not fully understanding the meaning of common gestures, facial expressions or tone of voice).
• Imagination (difficulty in the development of interpersonal play and imagination, for example having a limited range of imaginative activities, possibly copied and pursued rigidly and repetitively).

Brookdale Care provides services for individuals across the Autistic Spectrum. Brookdale's services reflect that each person and their circumstances are unique thus create an individually formulated care and treatment plan. The services are needs led and based on a thorough multidisciplinary assessment of each individual client. Having a diagnosis and assessment of how an individual is affected within the Triad of Impairments is essential, because this information can facilitate access to funding, treatment and effective risk management.

The triad of impairment - impairment of social relationships

• Aloof - over-formal or stilted in social contact, to schizoid and isolative behaviour, including becoming electively mute and complete withdrawal from interpersonal interactions. In extreme circumstances individuals may neglect all aspects of personal care and hygiene, some decompensate into a psychotic state.
• Active but odd - own needs seen as priority, little ability or desire to live in communal situations with others. Little or no concept of consensus or compromise. Little or no understanding of social rules and societal norms. These difficulties are compounded by deficits in interpreting non-verbal behaviours, abstract concepts and complex language.
• Passive - accepts social approaches with indifference, will often comply with all requests, therefore making them vulnerable to exploitation. May show some pleasure in social contact, but make no spontaneous approaches. Has difficulties dealing with stress and changes in routines.

The range of skills varies:

• People with no form of expressive communication and poor understanding
• People with what appears to be perfectly grammatical speech
• Absence of any desire to communicate
• Echolalic and repetitive speech
• Expression of needs only
• Makes factual comments, often irrelevant to the social situation
• Talks incessantly regardless of response by others
• Displays distortions of the rules of language
• Literal interpretation
• Referring to self in third person impairment of imagination
• Difficulty in understanding that other people see things from a different point of view
• Inflexibility in the application of both written and unwritten rules that govern social behaviour
• Repetitive enacting of roles without understanding purpose
• Difficulties in generalising concepts
• Literal understanding of language
• Difficulties in distinguishing between ‘pretend’ and reality
• Lack of empathy for others.
• Impairment of creative imaginative concepts

Specific cognitive difficulties, including:

• Theory of mind deficits: e.g. inability to attribute thoughts and beliefs to others
• Executive function: e.g. difficulty with sequencing, organising and problem solving
• Central coherence: e.g. understanding cause and effect

Additional areas of difficulty often present in Autistic Spectrum Disorder

• Repetitive and ritualistic activities.
• Inflexible routines
• Resistance to change
• Poor ability to manage anger and frustration
• Problems with sleeping, feeding and toileting
• Additional fears and phobias
• Severe anxiety
• Problems in gender identity
• Inappropriate expression of sexual feelings
• Anti-social behaviour
• Interpersonal violence
• Finding appropriate help and understanding
• Frustration at own difficulties in explaining to others why certain situations create insoluble problems
• Inflexibility in application of social rules, particularly where these apply to themselves
• Awareness of the social relationships normal to others and difficulty in achieving the same relationships
• Wanting to change but being unable to do so
• Insufficient understanding of their own condition
• Difficulty in coping with social demands and situations
• Knowing they are different
• Inability to be tactful - telling the literal truth all the time can make someone very unpopular
• Being very vulnerable to teasing by those who take advantage of their 'oddness' or literal interpretation of language and rules

How to find the right placement

Many people on the Autistic Spectrum have a history of unsuccessful placements. Finding the 'right' placement is the key to an individual reaching his or her maximum potential, and enjoying the quality of life they deserve. Brookdale Care offers a highly specialist and inclusive service to people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

The needs led approach provides individually tailored care packages. Brookdale's staff are well-trained and well-supported by an experienced multi-disciplinary team of Psychiatrists, Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, Nurses, Teachers and Complementary Therapists. Brookdale can offer a dedicated and robust service for the most challenging of individuals.

Some helpful ways to support people with Autism:

• Remove distractions - emphasise what is relevant
• Keep language clear, simple and delivered in a calm manner
• Use visual guides – do not rely on the person's memory
• Find person's area of interest
• Avoid open-ended tasks or imaginative activities requiring abstract thought or concepts
• Build routines/rituals/ special interests into learning
• Use short tasks with frequent breaks
• Re-teach skills in each new setting
• Keep rules/approach consistent
• Use positive instructions