What is Autism? A Snapshot.

What is Autism? Autism is a developmental disorder that has 3 areas of impairment: communication, social skills, and imagination (which often accounts for repetitive behaviours).

Although each child shares these 3 common elements, each child has different characteristics and is unique in their individual manifestation of these impairments. In some children, an impairment may not even be evident initially but may become more evident as the teacher spends time with the student and gets to know the student more.

This is why parents are the 'go to' people as they know their child well and they can provided professionals with useful information. Many autistic students' impairments are not physically evident and, the community may show intolerance when an autistic child has a meltdown in the community, or exhibits a socially inappropriate behaviour. Autism often occurs with co-morbidities, such as dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, OCD, ODD, Specific Learning Difficulties.

Therefore, teachers in mainstream settings and special education setting, need to seek out new knowledge in order to understand and plan for their students.

Parents deserve a special mention as they have to develop coping skills, lots of new knowledge, sleepless nights and I have seen them persist in difficult times, support professionals and their child, and give up a lot of their luxuries and personal time through their dedication to their child.

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