Hi. My name is Stephanie.
I'm autistic,
and I'm here to answer some common questions people have about autism.
What is autism?
Autism spectrum disorder is considered a neurodevelopmental disorder.
Understanding it fairly literally, it is a condition that affects
how the brain (the neuro part there) develops
(the developmental part of that).
Autism doesn't make someone's brain incomplete or classify
as a disease or a brain injury or anything like that.
It just means that the way the autistic brain develops is different
than the norm, which causes the traits that we recognize as autism.
This is also why some sources say that someone develops autism.
How does someone get autism or what causes autism?
Research has pointed to genetics being the main reason someone is autistic,
with research indicating heritability about 80% and some studies
involving identical twins estimating as high as 91%.
Basically, while there is a small amount of room
for environmental factors, which mostly would affect
how autism is expressed in a person, autism is genetic.
There is no one autism gene.
In fact, there have been over 100 genes identified that could contribute
to someone being autistic.
Are there different types of autism?
Kind of, but probably not how you're thinking.
Due to the plethora of genes and variations in the way
that autism presents in different people, some have suggested that autism be
referred to as autisms or autism
spectrum disorders rather than just disorder.
They even claim that eventually they might be able to take someone's DNA
and figure out what type of autism they have and be able to tell them things
that could be really helpful in helping them specifically.
Otherwise, some people might think about conditions like Asperger's
or Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified
that have been combined under the overall diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
Diagnostically, these are not considered to be different types of autism
or anything like that,
as long as you live in the United States or your country follows the DSM-5.
So-called low functioning, high functioning, severe, or mild
autism are not types of autism and are not accurate nor diagnostic terms.
What does autism is a spectrum mean?
Some people, when they hear
autism is a spectrum, they think of kind of a linear spectrum.
And like over here is very much autistic and over here is very
not much autistic or more autistic or less autistic.
And that's not really how that works.
The concept of a spectrum when it comes to autism is more like this very broad wide
thingamajig with overlapping aspects.
And amongst all of this is maybe where your social skills are,
your perception, your cognitive abilities, all sorts of other things
that can be deficits or can be strengths, not just more autistic or less autistic.
Or having all of these traits being deficits or all of these traits
being good and helpful to them or whatever.
That's just not how it works.
And really not how people work.
Are there treatments or a cure for autism?
There is no cure for autism, and many autistic people
don't want to be cured and they don't find
it very appropriate that other people want a cure for them.
There are, however, some autistic people who do want one for themselves.
Moving on
from the very loaded topic of a cure, there aren't really treatments for autism.
It's not a disease.
And there's no kind of medicine that makes someone stop
having autism or lessen the traits of autism.
There are therapies and supports that can help autistic people,
like physical, speech, and occupational therapy.
How do people cope with having autism?
Honestly, it varies from person to person, depending on who you talk to,
some might attribute their issues to being autistic or having autism,
and others might attribute it to a society and the way the world is
that doesn't work for them or isn't welcoming for them.
And oftentimes, you'll see people with a mixture of both.
This tends to inform the methods in which people cope, whether they
take a lot of therapy and really work on fitting in
or trying to be normal or reducing their obvious autistic traits.
Self advocate or advocate for others as well.
Try to get society to work better for autistic people.
Go to therapies to help with motor, speech, and sensory issues,
or go to therapy for psychological problems
that often accompany autism, such as anxiety or depression.
Really, it's just how pretty much any person copes with being a human being,
especially being a human being who is considered different from the norm.
Are there supports out there for autistic people and their families?
Supports do exist for autistic people and their families,
but they could always be better.
Programs for financial aid and living expenses, those types of things
often fall short when it comes to the transition into adulthood.
So, a lot of things will be cut off at age 18, even though autism is life long.
It can be difficult to go through
all the hoops and the processes to be able to get help and supports.
And unfortunately, sometimes professionals can bully
parents and autistic people instead of connecting them with the help
that they need.
However, thanks to the Americans
with Disabilities Act and the fact that autism is a disability,
autistic people do have protected rights and access to reasonable accommodations
There are many organizations out there offering help.
However, their effectiveness and their interests, etc.
can vary quite a bit.
How should I act around an autistic person?
Like you would around any other person.
Speaking or non-speaking, looking directly at you
or somewhere on the wall, we are people, just like you.
Talk to us, not about us.
And please, please, please do not use baby talk.
You probably should ask before touching autistic people, although I feel like
that's something you might want to do in general for any person.
You might consider sensory sensitivities.
But just as with any person, the more you get to know them, you might understand
what things that they're sensitive to, what supports they need, etc..
Please be patient with us.
Some of us have impulsive motor actions that we can't stop,
and others of us are bad at interrupting or take longer to make decisions.
But this isn't because we're trying to be rude.
Just because some of us don't look you in the eye when you're speaking
doesn't mean that we don't hear you and care about what you have to say.
I hope this helped answer some of your questions about autism.
If you enjoyed this video, go ahead and hit that like button.
If you're interested in more in-depth information and more conversation,
I have a lot of videos that you might be interested
in on my channel, so go ahead and hit that subscribe button.
And go listen to some other autistic people, hear
about their perspectives and see what they think is important to share with you.
Thank you to everyone who supports me here on YouTube as YouTube channel members,
through Ko-fi, and as patrons on Patreon, and a special
thank you to my Spinny Stimmy tier patrons, Jack Varney and Philip Noah.
Thank you so much for watching.
I hope you're having a wonderful week and I'll see you in my next video. Bye!