Wellbeing & Culture
Monday April 1- Tues April 30 is Autism Awareness Month
Welcome to Term 2. We hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday!
The month of April is Autism Awareness Month and we thought it was a great time to share some information with you all.
“What is autism spectrum disorder (ASD)?
About 1 in 150 Australians have ASD.
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental disorder. It affects how people behave and interact with the world around them.
In people with ASD, the brain does not grow in the same way it does in most people. ASD presents differently in boys and girls.” (Health direct Australia)
“What are the characteristics of ASD?
The main characteristics related to ASD fall into 2 broad areas:
- difficulty with social interactions and communication
- restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests
Some common signs and traits of ASD in children include the following:
- lack of social or emotional exchanges like pointing, smiling, showing you things
- lack of non-verbal communication such as nodding and shaking head, using hand gestures
- difficulty developing and maintaining relationships appropriate to their age, such as peer play, lack of close friends
- delayed expressed speech and understanding of speech
- lack of eye contact when speaking
- loss of language skills at any age
- excessively following routines, patterns or behaviour, and becoming distressed at changes
- stereotyped or repetitive speech
- using objects in unusual ways, such as rolling wheels before eyes
- movements, such as flapping hands, toe walking
- strongly reacting to sensory input such as sound, pain or textures
- restricted or fixated interests. This might be only playing with certain toys or talking about certain topics
- having difficulty managing emotions, such as "frequent and long tantrums” (Health Direct Australia)
“Understanding autism"
Autism spectrum disorder, commonly known as ASD, affects how people communicate and interact with others. It affects how they make sense of the world.
Autism is a developmental condition that is typically life-long. People with autism experience difficulties with communication, social interaction and restricted/repetitive interests and behaviours. These are often accompanied by sensory issues, such an oversensitivity or undersensitivity to sounds, smells or touch. All of these difficulties may lead to behavioural challenges in some individuals.
The term “spectrum” is used to emphasise that autism presents differently in every single person. People with autism have a wide range of challenges as well as abilities.” (Autism Awareness Australia)
Autism awareness month is about changing our views from Awareness to Acceptance.
“Autistic people don’t just need you to be aware of the fact they are autistic – they need whole-hearted, acceptance of their strengths and differing needs.
As we become more aware of the strengths and talents of autistic individuals, we’re also learning how to create more accommodating and supportive environments for them. (Monash Health)
Useful Resources and where the information from this newsletter was obtained from.
https://www.autismwhatnext.com.au/
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/
https://www.autismawareness.com.au/
https://www.autismwhatnext.com.au/
Kelly Goodgame – On behalf of the Wellbeing and Culture Team