What Are The Needs Of A Person With Autism

Understanding Autism Needs

Understanding the needs of individuals with autism includes recognizing the importance of accessing support organizations and providing family resources and support. Addressing the specific concerns of individuals with autism requires a thorough comprehension of their unique needs.

Accessing Support Organizations

Individuals with autism and their families can greatly benefit from engaging with various support organizations. These may include national organizations that offer local assistance, local autism councils or committees, and state health agencies. These entities can provide valuable insights into the available resources and services that meet the unique needs of a person with autism [1].

For instance, Autism Speaks has developed a searchable state resource guide for services that cater to the needs of individuals and families affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This guide provides valuable information for family members, educators, and service providers, ensuring they have the tools and knowledge necessary to effectively support individuals with autism [2].

Family Resources and Support

Families raising a child with ASD can succeed with the right support. A wealth of resources are available to help family members and caregivers understand and handle the emotions of raising a child with ASD. These resources provide insights into learning about ASD, solving everyday challenges, and overcoming overwhelming obstacles [2].

Providers must ensure families are given the resources they need to succeed in raising a child with ASD. It's important for them to have access to information that can assist them in understanding ASD, managing daily challenges, and overcoming significant hurdles. Equipped with these resources, families can feel more confident and capable in their role as caregivers and advocates for their loved ones with autism.

Moreover, some states have developed guidance documents to guide schools' practices for educating students with ASD. For instance, the Virginia Department of Education has put together a document on 'Models of Best Practice in the Education of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder'. These guidelines aim to promote consistency in programming across educational environments throughout the Commonwealth, ensuring students with ASD receive the best possible education.

Understanding the needs of individuals with autism and accessing the right support resources can greatly enhance the quality of life for both individuals with autism and their families.

Sensory Sensitivities in Autism

One vital aspect to understanding the needs of a person with autism is acknowledging the sensory sensitivities they may experience. These sensitivities can significantly impact how they interact with the world and perceive their surroundings.

Impact of Sensory Differences

People with autism can experience the world very differently from others due to sensory differences. These differences can be both debilitating and empowering. Creating an autism-friendly environment involves reducing negative effects of sensory differences and enhancing positive effects.

Individuals with autism can be hypersensitive (receive too much sensory information) or hyposensitive (receive too little sensory information) to sensory stimuli. They can also be both hypersensitive and hyposensitive, requiring varying levels of stimulus at different times [3].

Auditory and Visual Sensitivities

Among the sensory differences, auditory and visual sensitivities are often prominent. People with autism may have heightened auditory sensitivity, being able to hear sounds at many decibels above what others can hear. They can also hear sounds from further away and with intense levels.

Visual sensitivities also play a significant role. Lighting, color, clutter, and patterns in a room can significantly impact individuals with autism. For example, fluorescent lights can be distracting, different colors have varying effects, clutter can overwhelm, and patterned fabrics can be distressing [3].

Sensory Preferences and Challenges

Beyond visual and auditory sensitivities, autistic individuals may have different needs related to touch, pressure, smell, taste, balance, and space. Some may shun touch, while others may require extra pressure for calmness. Smells can be overwhelming, and taste preferences may be influenced by factors like texture or appearance of food.

Understanding these sensory preferences and challenges is crucial when considering what are the needs of a person with autism. By acknowledging these sensitivities and making necessary accommodations, we can help create a more comfortable and supportive environment for individuals with autism.

Anxiety and Autism

Understanding the needs of a person with autism extends to recognizing and addressing the prevalent issue of anxiety that many individuals on the spectrum experience.

Prevalence of Anxiety in Autism

Individuals with autism often experience elevated levels of anxiety, more so than found in the general population. A review by White et al. in 2009 cited that up to 84% of people with autism meet the criteria for clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders [4]. This prevalence extends to those labeled as "high-functioning" autism with studies suggesting they are more likely to be diagnosed with a mood disorder than the general population.

These statistics underscore the importance of recognizing and addressing anxiety as a significant concern within the autism community.

Challenges in Expressing Anxiety

A key challenge for individuals with autism is the difficulty in expressing their feelings of anxiety. This challenge is primarily due to communication difficulties often associated with autism. It can make it difficult to diagnose depressive or anxiety states appropriately, as the individual may struggle to articulate their feelings or identify symptoms (Autism Tasmania)

One common coping mechanism for anxiety in individuals with autism is "stimming," or self-stimulation. Stimming is a form of sensory seeking used to maintain sensory balance, relieve stress, or block out uncomfortable sensory input. However, suppressing this behavior can lead to difficulties in self-regulation, potentially resulting in sensory overload, exhaustion, or burnout.

Understanding and accommodating these challenges can help ease discomfort and increase opportunities for autistic individuals to express their feelings adequately. This understanding is crucial as it paves the way for appropriate interventions and support, ultimately enhancing the quality of life of individuals with autism.

Transition Planning for Autistic Individuals

Transition planning becomes a crucial part of the life of individuals with autism. It involves teaching strategies to cope with changes in environments and routines, which aids in building resilience and independence. Effective planning can reduce stress, anxiety, and prevent behavioral issues resulting from changes [7].

Coping with Change

Coping with change can be challenging for individuals with autism, who often thrive on routine and predictability. Changes in the daily routine, environment, or even subtle adjustments in a familiar setting can lead to increased anxiety and stress.

Visual strategies such as Social Stories™, social scripts, task lists, schedules, and visual supports like timetables, daily planners, and calendars can be effective tools to communicate upcoming changes. These strategies help in preparing for everyday changes or new situations, also known as horizontal transitions.

Strategies for Vertical Transitions

Vertical transitions, defined as progressions from one life phase to another, can be significantly challenging for individuals with autism. These might include moving from primary school to high school, transitioning from school to the workplace, or moving out of the family home.

Understanding and planning for these vertical transitions is vital. Strategies for these transitions can help individuals adapt and thrive in new environments. Support during these transitions could include:

1. Collaboration: Involving teachers, therapists, and family members can help create a consistent and supportive transition plan.
2. Social Stories™: These can help the individual understand what to expect in the new environment.
3. School visits: Visiting the new school or workplace can help familiarize the individual with the new setting.
4. Planning: Discussing the changes, setting goals, and planning for contingencies can help ease the transition.

By acknowledging the challenges of change and implementing strategies for both horizontal and vertical transitions, individuals with autism can be better equipped to navigate these changes, thus addressing one of the essential needs of a person with autism [7].

Communication Challenges in Autism

Understanding the needs of a person with autism involves recognizing the unique communication challenges they may face. These challenges can manifest as difficulties in social communication and language development, affecting their ability to interact with others effectively.

Social Communication Difficulties

A person with autism might find aspects of social communication challenging, such as maintaining conversations, understanding facial expressions, and inferring communicative intent based on context. They can also experience difficulties in engaging in small talk, understanding facial expressions and non-verbal cues, and using gestures and eye contact during conversations. Moreover, they may have a limited range of responses in social situations and may talk excessively or have a 'flat' tone to their voice.

Some common social communication difficulties include:

• Difficulty initiating and maintaining conversations
• Limited understanding of facial expressions and non-verbal cues
• Difficulty using gestures and eye contact during conversations
• Difficulty interpreting body language and initiating conversations
• Limited range of responses in social situations
• Excessive talking or a 'flat' tone to their voice

Language Development Issues

Individuals with autism can also face challenges with language development. This can manifest as delayed speech and language development, repetitive speech patterns, and difficulties understanding social cues and body language. Some children may talk fluently but still struggle with the social aspects of language.

One specific language development issue is the use of echolalia, or the repetition of words or phrases without meaning, as a communicative tool. This repetition can be immediate or delayed, and may involve repeating words from familiar people or sentences from videos.

Despite these challenges, it's important to highlight that there are strategies and tools available to assist individuals with autism in their communication needs. For instance, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies, such as visual supports and electronic communication aids, can support individuals with autism who have difficulty with verbal communication. These tools can help develop language skills, improve communication, and provide support in various environments.

By understanding the unique communication needs of a person with autism, we can better support them in their journey, helping them express themselves more effectively and navigate social interactions with greater ease.

Supporting Individuals with Autism

Supporting individuals with autism involves understanding their unique needs and preferences and making appropriate accommodations. These accommodations often focus on sensory experiences and communication strategies, as these areas tend to present significant challenges for people on the autism spectrum.

Sensory Accommodations

Autistic individuals often experience the world differently due to sensory differences. These differences can be both empowering and debilitating, requiring a careful balance of accommodations to enhance positive effects and minimize negative impacts [3].

Environmental factors such as lighting, color, clutter, and patterns can significantly affect individuals with autism. For instance, fluorescent lights can be distracting, various colors can elicit different responses, clutter can overwhelm, and patterned fabrics can cause distress. Accommodations in these areas can make a significant difference in the comfort and well-being of a person with autism.

Moreover, many people with autism have heightened auditory sensitivity, allowing them to hear sounds at decibels above what others can hear or from further distances, sometimes at intense levels. Accommodations such as reducing background noise or providing noise-cancelling headphones can help manage these sensitivities.

Autistic individuals often engage in stimming, a form of sensory seeking behavior, to maintain sensory balance, relieve stress, or block out uncomfortable sensory input. Discouraging stimming can lead to difficulties in self-regulation, potentially resulting in sensory overload, exhaustion, or burnout. Therefore, it's crucial to allow and support safe and appropriate stimming behaviors.

Accommodating sensory issues can involve modifying the environment, using tools and strategies, or creating new habits or routines tailored to individual sensory needs. These accommodations can ease discomfort and increase opportunities for autistic individuals to learn, socialize, communicate, and participate in the community [6].

Communication Strategies

Communication can be a significant challenge for many individuals with autism. In addition to verbal language difficulties, many autistic individuals struggle with nonverbal communication, such as interpreting facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice.

To support communication, it's essential to use clear, concise language and provide extra time for the individual to process information and respond. Visual aids, such as charts, diagrams, or photographs, can also be helpful in conveying information.

Technology can also play a significant role in supporting communication for individuals with autism. Devices or apps that use picture symbols or text-to-speech can provide a means of communication for those with limited verbal language skills.

Finally, patience and understanding are key. Every individual with autism is unique, and what works for one person might not work for another. By being patient, observant, and flexible, we can find the best ways to communicate with and support each individual with autism.

References

[1]: https://iacc.hhs.gov/resources/organizations/states/

‍[2]: https://vcuautismcenter.org/resources/families.cfm

‍[3]: https://livingautism.com/create-autism-friendly-environment/

‍[4]: https://www.autismtas.org.au/about-autism/common-challenges/

‍[5]: https://www.verywellhealth.com/why-high-functioning-autism-is-so-challenging-259951

‍[6]: https://www.autismspeaks.org/sensory-issues

‍[7]: https://www.nu.edu/blog/7-autism-behavior-and-communication-strategies/

‍[8]: https://thespectrum.org.au/autism-strategy/autism-strategy-communication/