What do you think of when someone says the word disability? Do you think of more negative things, or more positive things? Oftentimes I notice people making fun of disabilities. About a year or two ago people would use the word “autistic” as an insult. They would say “You’re so autistic,” it was almost as if using this word as an insult was a trend. I would cringe when I heard someone say this because I know that having autism is not a bad thing. In fact, I know a couple of people who have autism and are amazing people.
I think that as a community we need to spread awareness and change the negativity that forms around special education, or around people with a disability. Autism is one of the major disabilities that people tend to make fun of, but there are so many awesome things that come with having autism. I have shared only 5 cool things about autism below, although there are so many more cool facts.
1. Autistic people perceive the world differently and process information in unique ways.
Many people with autism are very sensitive to something, whether that be touch, taste, texture, ect. With sensitive sensory systems, they process the maelstrom of information flowing into their brains. Sometimes a sensory overload can occur, which often results in tantrums, anxiety, and social withdrawal.
2. They are detail-oriented and pay more attention to finer details that others often miss.
People with autism normally perceive parts of an object first and then build it up to a whole. As Uta Faith puts it, People with autism have difficulty “seeing the forest for the trees.” Autistic people look beyond the main point which can help them a lot in various situations.
3. They absolutely love routines and will happily maintain those routines with great success.
Routine brings order to a chaotic world. Children with autism have trouble with making sense of new sounds, behaviors, or events. A routine creates order in their life and helps them learn what to expect and what is expected of them.
4. People with autism have great memory and can recall facts.
According to a study from PhycologyToday, people with autism tend to study facial features like objects, rather than in light of social relationships. Students with ASD tend to have trouble focusing on the more important task. However, this may be connected to their difficulty in knowing what they should focus on, rather than working with memory deficiencies. People with ASD tend to rehearse things over and over again in their heads, which is a good portion of that they have great memory and can recall facts.
5. They often tend to be visual thinkers.
Visual thinkers are very popular in the autistic population. Autism professionals highly advocate using visual tools to help autistic people learn better and function more efficiently in their everyday life. Visual thinking tools are the most effective and least expensive tool for people with autism. Most of the visual tools today are used by people who aren't autistic, which makes these visual tools more accepted and known.
Works Cited:
Comentários