Autism

Do you think it’s possible to discover your autism at thirty?

Yes, it is. Quite often, adults find out about their autism only in their 30s or 40s. For many, this discovery is a relief.

Why? Because they find their place, their identity, and a rational explanation for why they have struggled so much. The paradigm of neurodiversity wonderfully explains the reasons behind the suffering of people with autism.

It states that autism is not a disorder but a necessary and valuable form of neurodiversity for society, just like biological diversity. However, our society (due to a lack of resources) cannot provide an appropriate environment for those who are not in the majority. This is the whole problem.

According to the paradigm:

• Autism is normal. “Neurodiversity” is a natural form of human diversity.
• Autism represents value for society, as focus, memory, attention to detail, pattern recognition, and the remarkable creativity of people with autistic traits (observed in Newton, Einstein, Mozart, and Steve Jobs, for example) are all components of autistic intelligence capable of providing society with significant achievements.
• Autism is not a disorder since it does not inherently harm the individual and represents the self, the identity of a person.
• Autism is a spectrum, a “landscape.” No two autistic people are alike. Each person with autism has their own individual set of traits. Some traits of autistics can fit well into their environment and even provide advantages, while others may create challenges.

In children with autism, sensory sensitivities, speech delays, difficulties in social interaction, repetitive behaviors, and stimming (unusual movements in response to strong emotions) are primarily observed.

Children with autistic traits may get fixated on certain interests, show delayed development of self-care skills (like brushing teeth, dressing, using the toilet, etc.), struggle to transfer knowledge from books to real life, poorly understand danger, command others, passionately desire to be first in everything, dislike tactile contact or, conversely, be overly tactile, be selective about food, be excessively social, strive to always be the center of attention, experience significant anxiety or intense anger, poorly control emotions, and struggle to transition from one activity to another or change routines.

How can we help?

• Don’t be afraid to recognize autism.
• Create an environment that is most suitable for neurodiversity.
• Don’t push children with autistic traits toward “normalcy.”
• Provide love, acceptance, and live a full life.
• Help children with autism learn skills for regulating anxiety and anger (cognitive-behavioral therapy).