What is Autism Video Transcript

Hello, and welcome to this video from Islington Social Communication Team. My name is Rachel and I am a Clinical Psychologist in the team. We have developed this and other videos on this website to help you understand autism. This video is the first step in understanding more about what the diagnosis means for your child, for yourselves as parents and for your family as a whole.

We will talk about what autism is and the features that we are looking at when we diagnose children. We will try to understand what the experience of the children themselves might be and how this explains some of the behaviours that you may see.

So, let’s start with the brain. Imagine the brain is like a computer that is always on. It helps us process information and keeps us living and learning. Everyone’s brains work differently and everyone has different things that they are good at and things they find difficult.

Having an autistic brain means that the brain processes information in a different way. It is not worse or better, but it is different.
It’s a bit like having a computer with a different type of operating system to other people.

Different operating systems are not better or worse, but they do have different strengths and challenges.

Some computers are said to be good for graphics and design, for example, whereas others are considered better at numbers and processing data.
Similarly, an autistic person might find some things harder and some things easier compared to someone who isn’t autistic. This means an autistic person experiences the world differently and understands things and people differently from people who aren’t autistic.

It also means they have particular patterns of strengths and challenges. These often relate to how they communicate and interact with others and also the way in which they engage with things they are interested in and the way they prefer to learn and organise their lives.

Each child on the spectrum is unique and has different areas of strengths and areas of need. Some autistic children may talk, whereas others may not. Some may have additional learning needs, whereas others won’t. All autistic children will have some differences in two main areas however, which are the areas we look at when we are assessing and making diagnoses.

The first of these is communication and social interaction.

When we are looking at communication and social interaction, we are interested in things like how children communicate with other people, how they use language, how they ask for things, how they understand and respond to other people’s language, how they use and interpret non-verbal communication like facial expressions and gesture and eye contact and how they make friends and engage socially with other people.
The second area is behaviour and flexibility of thinking.

For example, we look at things like if children have a strong preference for routine and a preference for familiarity and sameness. They may enjoy doing things repetitively, or have intense and focused interests in particular things.

This area also includes, for many children, differences in sensory experience, such as seeking out or avoiding particular sensations, like particular sounds or smells.

We will now talk in a bit more detail about each of these areas and give some examples of the how these traits may present in autism. Not all of these examples will apply to your child, as children on the spectrum vary so much.

So, when it comes to communication and social interaction we’re going to talk about some of the things that parents often tell us about their children and we are going to look at each one in turn.

Some parents of children on the spectrum tell us that it’s hard to have a conversation with their child.

 

This can be true both for children who use words, and those who don’t, as conversation don’t always involve talking, like as the back-and-forth exchange of sounds and facial expressions that you might have with a very small child or baby. Autistic children and adults often have difficulty with this back-and-forth exchange of conversation.

If they use words, they may use repeated or echoed language that may not be meaningful, and struggle with the to-and-fro. Some may have no difficulties with language overall, but struggle to know how to make social chit-chat with another person, finding it difficult to talk about topics that may not be of particular interest to them.

Some parents tell us their children prefer to play on their own than with others. They may show interest in other children but struggle to know how to join in with them or simply prefer to play on their own. Others may really enjoy interactive play but struggle to know how to do things like turn taking and sharing. They may not naturally pay attention to what other children are doing and tend not to include other people’s ideas in their play.

Some parents tell us it is hard to get their child’s attention and that their child can seem to be “in their own world”. Some children may not respond to their name or make eye contact and they can have difficulty following instructions. Some may seem anxious about interaction or avoid it altogether.

Parents often tell us that their children have difficulty asking for things or requesting help. Again, this is not just about having the words to ask, as children with no language can often use gesture or other means to let us know their needs and wishes. Parents sometimes tell us that their child places their hand on things they want help with but might not look at them to request.

Children with good language might find it really difficult to ask for help in certain contexts, like when they are in a busy classroom or with unfamiliar people. They may cry when another child takes a toy they wanted but struggle to know how to say what they want.

Overall, they often tend to show reduced use of non-verbal means of communicating and interacting with others, such as through gestures or facial expressions, which can also make it harder to know what they want.

Some parents tell us that their children often do not show things to other people or point out things they are interested in. Again, this could be with or without language. Children may have strong interests but not always share these with other people. They may be uncertain how to start an interaction with someone else.

It helps to try and think, from the child’s perspective of what their experience might be and how they might explain it to us if they could. So, let’s look one by one at some of those possible reasons.

They might tell us they don’t understand everything we say. This can be the case even for children who use language. Also, the amount they understand may depend on the situation. Even children who often have good understanding may lose this when they are very upset or overwhelmed and we find using visual supports is usually helpful for children on the spectrum, whatever their language level.

They may tell us that they like copying words, but don’t know how to use them. Children may repeat back language that they have heard without understanding it fully. This can lead to people assuming they are understanding things, when they may not be.

Autistic children often have some trouble understanding what non-autistic people are thinking and feeling, just like non-autistic parents may have difficulty understanding their child’s thoughts or feelings. They may assume that you have the same thoughts as they do and so, for example, not realise that they have to communicate in order for you to know what they want.

Autistic children can feel quickly overwhelmed by sensory experiences or social expectations. If they are feeling overwhelmed or overstimulated, they may be unable to listen to, focus on and respond to things which, in another situation, they could.

It may not be immediately obvious to children on the spectrum that other people are fun to play with. They may need help to learn that other people can be interesting and have something to offer them. They also may not naturally grasp social rules and expectations in the way another child would and might need help to learn these.

They might tell us that they can feel our emotions but it can be hard to make sense of them or to know what to do. They may struggle to interpret facial expressions so that, for example, if we get angry, they may only understand this as excitement and enjoy it. They will need help to make sense of different feelings and what they mean.

So, when it comes to behaviour and flexibility of thinking, again, we will start by looking at a few examples of things parents tell us about their children that fit into this area, some but not all of which may apply to your child.

Parents often tell us “My son gets upset if we do something new”. Autistic children can often find new situations and experiences difficult and distressing and tend to prefer familiar routines when they know what to expect.

Parents might tell us their children like to hold onto particular toys wherever they go. Again, through doing this they are creating a sense of predictability, familiarity and safety.

Parents often tell us that their children have to do particular things in particular ways, like always taking the same route to nursery. They might get very distressed sometimes when plans and routines change or insist on doing them the way that they are used to.

Parents often tell us that their children play repetitively with toys, such as lining them up or organising them in a particular way, spinning wheels on a toy car, or repetitively turning a switch on and off. For other children, this type of focus in patterns and repetitive interests might translate into an interest in predictable systems like computer programs, maths or music.

Parents often tell us that their children show a need to control particular events and do things their way, such as controlling what they are watching on television and they may struggle to wait to be allowed to follow their own agenda.

Parents tell us that their children can become distressed in certain environments, often ones with lots of people and sensory stimulation, like the supermarket.

Some autistic children show repetitive mannerisms, like flapping or tensing their hands when they are anxious or excited.

Again, let’s try to think, from the child’s perspective, of what their experience might be and how they might explain these behaviours to us if they could, by looking at each of these in turn.

They might tell us that they like familiar routines as they know what’s going to happen. They might tell us that new situations make them feel anxious as they don’t know what to expect.

They might tell us that repetitive actions can feel calming to them as they are clear and predictable and they know what to expect. For the same reason older children may prefer subjects and systems with clear rules linked to clear answers, like Maths and Science, and perhaps find subjects that are more abstract, like Literacy, more difficult. Again, this depends very much on the individual child.

Pretend or imaginative play can be more difficult for some autistic children for the same reason. It’s less structured, more abstract and less predictable. This is especially the case when playing with another person who brings in their own ideas.

They might tell us that patterns and rules make sense to them, whereas people are unpredictable and can be confusing. Not knowing what is going to happen, might make them feel very anxious whereas if they follow their own agenda and do things according to their own plan they can predict what will happen and feel more secure.

They might tell us that they like detail and can get very interested in particular things. This can be really useful at times, but can also sometimes mean they find it more difficult to look at the bigger picture and get the gist or overview of something.

They might tell us that they haven’t yet developed their concept of time and this can make it hard for them to understand when things are going to happen. If they are asked to wait this may be very hard as, in their mind, it may never be their turn and they don’t know how long the wait will be.
Also, as they don’t have a clear sense of time, it may be difficult for them to understand whether frightening things are over or if they could happen again. Or if something reminds them of a frightening experience, they may think it’s happening again or could happen.

They might tell us that their senses are different to ours and that this can mean they get frightened or overwhelmed more easily by certain things or certain environments. They might be afraid of things which are not dangerous, such as things that make loud noises, because the sensory experience is different for them, so they find it unbearable.

On the other hand, they may not be aware of real dangers at other times and so need support to learn to recognise them.

Thank you so much for watching this video. Now that you have watched this video, we encourage you to have a look at other information and videos on this page where we will explain the sensory differences experienced by many people on the spectrum; the different words and terms you may have heard used for autism and what they mean.

 

 We will discuss the autism spectrum and the question parents always ask us of “where is my child on the spectrum”. We will explore the many strengths seen in autism as well as the challenges. And further down the page, your will also find information about your next steps and how you can access further help and support.

Thank you so much for taking the time to watch this video from the social communication team. We really hope that you have found it useful.