Strengths in autism

 

Although autistic people do often have difficulties in certain areas, their way of thinking is also associated with many strengths, as outlined in this diagram from the University of Leeds.

 

Laura James is a journalist who received her autism diagnosis in her 40s. She is also author of the book “Odd Girl Out”. In her book she describes her autism saying:

“There are things I love about my autism, such as my ability to hyper-focus, my intense special interests (which bring me much joy), and my ability to think quickly and differently. I am quite self-contained, love my own company and I genuinely don’t understand how it feels to be bored.”

Jessie Hewitson, is mother to an autistic son and author of “Autism: How to raise a happy autistic child”. She explains how she feels one important way we can support autistic children’s emotional wellbeing is by valuing their autistic traits, saying: 

“My son doesn’t lie. He is never sly or manipulative and it would not occur to him to put anyone down. These are some of the many reasons why people like him and I am proud to be his Mum. If he weren’t Autistic, would these qualities be there? Impossible to know, but I suspect his Autism has helped to make him the funny, kind and clever boy he is.”

We explain more about the many strengths seen in autism in our next video. You can access the transcript of the video below here.