Individuals who have autism are seven times more likely to have interactions with police, which makes it all the more important to understand why some behaviors that may cause concern if exhibited by a neurotypical person could be misunderstood and may mean an individual with autism is overwhelmed or doesn’t fully understand what is expected in a situation.
“I hope all first responders, from police officers to EMTs, and indeed the whole of society, learn about severe autism, not just TV-version autism.” – Adrienne, mother of a daughter on the autism spectrum, helped by an off-duty police officer to avoid harm to her daughter during a meltdown.
Whether a first responder has training in how to approach someone with autism can make a huge difference for many families at crucial times. People with autism tend to react differently and get overwhelmed more easily than neurotypical individuals due to various sensory sensitivities.
Is not understanding sarcasm a ‘big deal’? Turns out it is because it is so prevalent, and not understanding it makes you stand out.
Someone once said that ‘sarcasm is a metric for potential.’ Often at times, this is one of the hardest struggles for those with autism growing up.
By Anita Lesko, BSN, RN, MS, CRNA, CAS, (and on the autism spectrum)
For some teenagers, getting a driver’s license might symbolize their freedom and new life as an adult. But not every teenager counts the days until they get their driver’s license. I learned to drive in high school along with the rest of my classmates.
At that time in my life, I didn’t know I’m autistic. What I did know, however, was that I felt scared and instinctively knew I wasn’t ready to drive.
I did great on the written exam. Being behind the wheel out on the road with the instructor was a different story.
By Elayne Pearson, C.A.S., Special-needs Preparedness Specialist, is an award-winning writer, poet, presenter, advocate, author, and actress.
Sometimes sensitivity to touching hair, touching the face, or putting inanimate objects that might put pressure on the hair or face can be a sign of late-onset autism. In our case, this was particularly confusing until we figured out what was going on.
It can also be quite stressful.
Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) play a significant role in providing primary and preventative care in rural areas that are underserved. Currently, there are 4,500 RHCs and 1,350 CAHs nationwide.
It is critical that these facilities are able to provide services for people on the autism spectrum, as this is a huge area of need in this country.
“In addition to a diminished presence of and access to minimally adequate care for rural areas, there is a lack of evidence-based practices for identifying and providing services for individuals with ASD (Rhoades et al., 2007). This combination of factors contributes to a variety of unfavorable outcomes for affected children who live in rural locations, such as delays in developmental screening and diagnosis as well as fewer available interventions, which can lead to comparatively worse educational and functional outcomes.”- Rural Trends in Diagnosis and Services for Autism Spectrum Disorder, NCBI
Autism is on the rise in the Middle East and there is a massive shortage of trained professionals to work with these children.
There is a distinct lack of reliable numbers on diagnosis in the Middle East for autism and other related disorders, partially due to the lack of clinics and qualified medical personnel to work with them and diagnose them.
People with autism commonly come in contact with law enforcement and first responders for a number of reasons, and are five times more likely to be incarcerated than the general population according to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
I remember the spring of 2005 like it was yesterday. This may seem like a long time ago, but in many places education hasn’t changed very much with regard to attitudes towards autism and inclusion.
Parents will often have to make sure they keep themselves informed on their rights and make sure that they are advocate number one for their child.
A number of countries that did rely on BCBAs for treating people with autism will have to evaluate other viable options. With the prevalence and awareness of autism increasing substantially worldwide, many countries are not well prepared to serve this population.
People with autism vary significantly in how autism impacts them and the way they perceive the world, making it important to have qualified experts that truly understand autism to treat them. However, having qualified practitioners is a very common problem, especially across lower and middle-income countries throughout the world:
