What is autism?
Autism is a natural variation in how some people's brains work. It is a lifelong neurological difference that affects how we perceive, process, and interact with the world.
Historically, the DSM-5 has categorised autism within the medical model, which views autism through a lens of deficits and impairments. However, many autistic people reject the deficit-based criteria in the DSM. Instead, we are shifting towards understanding and embracing autism through the lens of the neurodiversity paradigm and the social model of disability, recognising it as a natural and valuable variation of human experience.
There are many differences in the autistic neurotype:
1. Monotropism
Many autistic people have deep, intense interests in specific topics. This can lead to remarkable expertise and passion in these areas. This focus style, called monotropism, means we can become deeply absorbed in areas of interest. We have highly-detailed orientated brains, or specialist brains. Many of the world's inventions and achievements were made by individuals with monotropic brains.
2. Energy
Autistic people process information differently. We often have a more direct, bottom-up approach, starting with sensory experiences and building understanding from there. We feel and sense the world around us; energy is our language. Articulating our thoughts, experiences, or feelings can be a difficult, complicated, or impossible feat for many autistic people.
3. Nervous System
Many autistic people have hypersensitive nervous systems. The emotional brain and amygdala are often working in overdrive. Many stressors can result in constant sympathetic activation (i.e. fight/flight/freeze response) which can be immensely exhausting and fatiguing for autistic people. This hypersensitivity can also result in autistic people being highly receptive to the beauty of the world, positive-sensations and glimmers i.e. candles, animals, patterns etc.
4. Pattern-seeking
The autistic brain has an inclination towards pattern-seeking and repetition. This can be a way of helping us to make sense of all the detailed-information our brains are continuously processing. Autistic brains can be skilled at navigating the world through nuanced patterns and sequences.
Autistic traits: A brief overview
Sensory: Interoceptive differences, hypersensitivity, hyposensitivity, auditory/visual/tactile sensitivity, high or low movement needs etc.
Communication: Echolalia, gestalt language processing, reduced eye contact, masking, infodumping about areas of interest, situational mutism, direct communication, minimally speaking, non-speaking etc.
Executive Functioning: Task paralysis or inertia, difficulty transitioning between tasks, hyperfocus on areas of interest, processing speed differences etc.
Emotional intensity: Highly empathetic, shutdown, burnout, distress behaviour, justice sensitivity, rejection sensitivity etc. More likely to experience trauma and develop co-occurring mental health diagnoses.
Interests: Love of learning, intense research, monotropism, collections, creativity, gaming etc.
Relationships: Bonding through interests, loyalty, rejection sensitivity, masking, social anxiety, social overwhelm, preference for connecting with neurokin etc.
Body: Interoceptive processing differences, sleep differences, fatigue, hyper/hypo sensitivity to pain. Common co-occurring physical health diagnoses i.e. hypermobility, EDS, POTS, CFS/ME, epilepsy, gastrointestinal concerns, dyspraxia, apraxia etc.
Learning: Hyperfocus, detail orientated, passionate, demand avoidance, task inertia/paralysis, difficulty transitioning between tasks, focus/attention, fatigue. Co-occuring diagnoses i.e. dyslexia, dyscalculia etc.