About Autism
What is Autism?
Autism affects how a person understands and interacts with other people and the world around them.
Understanding Autism
Autism is a lifelong condition that affects how a person understands and relates to other people and the world around them.
It is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning it begins early in life and affects how the brain develops. Autism is mainly characterised by differences in social communication, interaction, and patterns of behaviour. These can include repetitive actions, intense interests, and unique responses to sensory input.
These traits are usually noticeable before age 3, but may not be recognised until later, such as during school years or even adulthood. While these features can vary widely in nature and level between individuals, and in the same individual over time, there is evidence that autistic behaviours endure into adult life, though the impacts may change across the lifespan.
Autism and Other Conditions
Over 95% of Autistic people are multiply neurodivergent and have co-occurring disabilities and / or health conditions, many of which overlap in diagnostic criteria.
A range of developmental, mental, and physical health conditions regularly co-occur with autism, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, epilepsy, gastrointestinal issues, sleep disorders, language disorders, motor difficulties, and mental health problems. These co-occurring conditions, in conjunction with the core autism characteristics, can make their needs more complex, change over time and create significant barriers to a person’s ability to function independently in their environment, with longer-term implications for affect a person’s education, job opportunities, and wellbeing (adapted from the NMRC-approved National Guideline on assessment and diagnosis of autism (2023 update) p.1,p.126).
Every Autistic Person is Different
There is not one universally accepted definition of autism that captures everyone’s experience.
Autism is a distinct disability. Autism is highly heterogeneous which means while Autistic people share common traits they present differently from one person to the next.
Hence as with all people, every Autistic person is unique, and has their own individual diversity, capacity, experiences and aspirations. Their experiences of day-to-day life are dynamic based on the systemic, environmental, and interpersonal barriers that each individual experiences at the time.
As such, this can make Autistic people’s needs more complex and change over time.This is why there should be no references to level of functioning such as low or high. Supports need to be individualised and consider the whole person.
Support Needs Vary
The autism spectrum isn’t linear, and many people talk about the ‘spiky profile’. This means an Autistic person could be a leading expert on nuclear physics but unable to remember to brush their teeth or clean their clothes. Therefore Autistic people can have varying support needs.
Some Autistic people have very high support and dependency needs. People with very high support needs are likely to mean that they require full time care and support and their carers often deal with difficult, unseen problems that need special solutions.
Some people may need a bit of support with day-to-day activities, while others, with adjustments to their environment and/or routines, live fully independent lives. Others may have low support needs most of the time, but still have high support needs intermittently such as during certain times in their life, like during big changes or stressful events.
Autistic people who have learning disabilities, like dyslexia or dyscalculia, affects everyday skills such as reading, writing, cooking, or looking after themselves.
Autistic people often do very well in areas they are interested in and thrive in contexts that match their aspirations, needs and abilities.
In Summary
With the right support in place, all Autistic people should be able to live a life that they choose that reflects who they are and what they want. But without that support, they may face serious challenges.