THE CHALLENGES IN AUTISM

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Autism presents its own unique set of challenges, but with correct management and the right support, it will ease the effect of these challenges over time. A big challenge for people with autism is communication and having a hard time with social interaction. What may come as just an instinct to most people in a social norm, such as smiling back when someone smiles at you, may be totally foreign to someone with autism. They are not trying to be rude, they just don’t have the intuition to do it. People with autism have a hard time communicating with others. It’s again an instinct or call it intuition that other people have but doesn't come so naturally to people with autism. Here's an example:

 You ask an individual with autism, “how was your day?,” 

They may reply “good,” and not even think to ask you how your day was.

Again they are not trying to be rude, it just doesn’t come to mind for them. These are just some specific examples, but the challenges with autism relating to communication and social norms can vary. A further challenge when it comes to autism is repetitiveness and obsessive-compulsiveness. Most people with autism have a strict way of going about something with a rigid approach to change. For example, someone with autism may have toast and juice every morning. If one day you put some eggs and milk in front of them, they could get very overwhelmed and want to go back to their routine. It can be very hard for someone with autism to be exposed to sudden change. They tend to have a certain way to go about things, and don’t enjoy changing it up much. Once more, this is just a specific example of repetitiveness and obsessive-compulsiveness, but there are many other instances where this shows. 

Another challenge associated with autism in sensory sensitivity. People with autism can have heightened senses that can make it overwhelming to do certain things. These sensory sensitivities can be auditory. An individual with autism can have sensitive hearing and can be overwhelmed by loud noises or noise coming from multiple directions. Another sensitivity could be visual. Certain persons with autism can be rattled by bright lights or a sudden change of lights. A further sensitivity is touch sensitivity. Many times people with autism really like certain textures and how one thing feels, but dislike a different texture or how another thing feels.

A big challenge that not a lot of people like to address when relating to autism is mental health. With these challenges, people with autism are more prone to develop mental health issues. With struggles in communication and social interactions, they may have a hard time making friends. As a result, they become lonely and depressed. Also, since they don’t know how to act in social situations, it creates a lot of anxiety for them because they are never confident in what they   “should” be doing or saying. Furthermore, with certain sensory issues, it makes it hard for some to go to public places where they can see the world. With sensory sensitivities, it can also make everyday things very hard to do. Additionally, with the nature of people with autism having repetitive and compulsive behaviors, if they fall into the wrong habit it can lead to a destructive addiction that is extremely hard to break. Not many people know about this challenge of autism, but it is one of the most dangerous challenges associated with the disorder. It can drastically decrease the quality of life of a person with autism and in some cases even lead to an earlier death. Therefore, most people with autism die in their 50’s. At The Britain Foundation, we are not scared to share the truth and shed light on this very important subject. We are committed to bringing awareness to one of the biggest issues with autism that is not even talked about. We are dedicated to funding programs that aid in improving the personal well being of people with autism. 

This was a brief summary over challenges a person with autism might encounter. It's important to note that the symptoms and severities of these challenges can vary greatly. A communication issue for one being with autism might be trouble making eye contact with other people, but for another individual with autism with a communication problem, it may be that they are completely mute. Notice how all of these challenges can be managed and even improved over time with the right practice tools and support. It is important to know that if you have autism, you are not stuck with these challenges the rest of your life. You can work on areas that you need to improve upon to overcome these challenges and live your best life.