What Your Child/Friend/Sibling/Classsmate with Autism Wants you to Know
Since there is still so much misinformation being spread in this good year of 2018.
Written by someone with autism!
- We have emotions. In fact, our emotions and stress levels may even be greater than someone without autism for a variety of reasons.
- If you catch us stimming (some websites call it “repetitive behavior” but it’s mainly called stimming), don’t try and stop us unless our stim is harmful in any way (some on the more severe side will bang their head). Our stimming is caused by a lot of stress or overstimulation and it is way of drowning out the background sensory input.
- Oh, and if you see someone banging their head, try to give them noise-cancelling headphones or a fisget toy to play with. Don’t just stop them. Or, if they are trying to communicate that they want something, give them what they want.
- The day can be especially tiring for us. If we need space, give it to us. We need a little more time to relax than others because we are more easily stressed or overstimulated.
- Do not mess with our routines. Theu are a great source of comfort and self-regulation. We might become very stressed if our routines are disrupted.
- Change can be an especially difficult thing to handle. Please be aware of this.
- Encourage our special interests! They are a great source of comfort and entertainment for us. They might even help us get a job if we pursue expertise in that area! I love playing Minecraft for hours on end or researching medical conditions just because I’m curious. Just because they are “weird” to you does not mean they are harmful.
- Do not push into social situations we cannot handle. Instead, teach us ways to calm ourselves and ways to properly have conversations with people so we’re not lost and confused.
- Some people prefer to be called “person with autism”, some people prefer to be called “autistic person”, and some people do not care. Ask!
- Be patient. Show us kindness. Try to understand us. Ask about our experiences.