The many faces of Autism

A neurodevelopmental disorder is one which influences the way in which the brain and neurons develop throughout our life. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder. It affects many different areas of a person’s functioning, including social, emotional, intellectual, language, communication, and behaviour.

The diagnosis of Autism was formally a singular diagnosis of a specific set of symptoms. Following the new guidelines of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-V), the symptoms of various syndromes (including Asperger’s Syndrome) have been merged to create a list of symptoms for the diagnosis of Autism, which is now known as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The word Spectrum has been included in the diagnosis, as it helps explain the wide range of symptoms, and (more importantly) their severity to the individual’s functioning.

To understand ASD better and how it manifests differently in each person, we can first consider the two central areas it affects: social interaction and communication.

When we are interacting and communicating with others we use a variety of different skills, including verbal communication, listening, sensory skills, motor abilities, understanding non-verbal cues, boundaries, body language, interpreting feelings of ourselves and others, and many more. Social interaction and communication is a complex skill that some individuals with ASD struggle with. Not everyone, and not to the same degree. This difficulty some individuals with ASD have in approaching others might be interpreted as a lack of interest in making acquaintances.

Several people with ASD have trouble understanding or relating to what others feel; this relates to difficulty understanding non-verbal communication, body cues, and theory of mind (ability to understand and take into account another’s mental state or “mind-reading”).  In other cases, some do not develop verbal language and connect through different means of communication. In other cases, some develop verbal language however have difficulty following the rules of intonation and pitch in speech.

ASD also has other manifestations. One of which is the inflexibility to change. A sense of sameness in one’s routine can provide a feeling of comfort, stability, and certainty in their life. This, in turn, means that they can feel distressed when they encounter or are forced to experience changes in their habits and daily routines.

Additionally, ASD can be shown through differences in one’s intellectual abilities. People perform differently in tasks requiring visuospatial skills, academics, social understanding, and verbal ability tasks. Just like non-ASD people, those with ASD can develop excellence in specific areas or tasks and have difficulties in others.

The process of diagnosing ASD can be challenging, as it manifests so differently in each person. These differences occur through a variety of factors. ASD exists within a spectrum, varying from high-functioning to lower-functioning; this refers to how independently an individual can function in their daily life, and how much support they require depending on their age and severity of their symptoms. As there is such a wide spectrum of symptoms and an even wider depth of manifestation of each symptom, ASD shows itself so vastly different in each person.

ASD often co-occurs with other disorders, such as ADHD, epilepsy, and sensory sensitivity disorder, making it more difficult to clearly distinguish between symptoms.

Due to the many ways the symptoms of ASD are exhibited in every individual, it is important to keep in mind that every person is different and unique, with so many things to offer and change the world.