The first thing to know about autism is not disability. Children immediately notice an autism child in their environment, they have questions that they turn to adults. Explaining to the child what autism is is necessary in order not to stigmatize the child with ASD and to help children communicate and interact without injuring each other.
Autism is not uncommon today. This is primarily due to the fact that diagnostic methods are being improved, and society is increasingly learning about people with autism. However, people with ASD are often looked at in terms of stereotypes. For example, they are credited with polls for lack of communication, learning difficulties, Savant syndrome, and a love of mathematics and the exact sciences.
But the people, adults and children diagnosed with ASD are different. Among them there are geniuses and there are those who are not capable of learning. Most people with autism are somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, can communicate and study, lead an active lifestyle, and at first glance their autism will be suspected only by an experienced medical professional.
However, people with autism are different from neurotypes. And this is necessary to know, especially if a family or team has many children, and one of them has an appropriate diagnosis. The first thing to learn by explaining to someone what autism is is that you need to be kind. When discussing ASD, it is necessary to concentrate on the positive aspects. It is much more important to explain to the child what is beautiful in another child, what makes him unique, what he is good at, than to emphasize the negative points.
What you need to remember about autism
Of course, in neurotypical children who encounter those who are different from them and behave differently, many questions arise. They need help to build relationships with these “others, ” and they need to understand them. When answering questions, be sure to remember:
- Autism is not retardation or disability.
- If a child with autism takes part in a conversation, you should not ignore him and talk about him in the third person, as if he was not there. He must participate in the discussion, he must be addressed, even if he does not speak and does not answer.
- Children have the right to ask and do it directly. This is not rude. They simply strive for clarity, in no way want to hurt you or someone you are interested in.
- Answer questions honestly, but consider the age of the person who is interested.
The hardest part must be to explain to a young child what a breakdown is that happens in children with ASD. After all, this behavior is very scary. A child with ASD can break off due to the slightest trifle, scream, cry and even behave aggressively. Neurotypical children often seek to help the afflicted, but they encounter fierce resistance, which plunges them into bewilderment and can set them up against a child with autism.
How to explain to a child what a breakdown is in children with autism
Disruptions that often happen in public places scare not only children, but also adults. How many parents of children with autism can share their experience, as during the next breakdown, they did not wait for support, but attacks from others who were not averse to making a remark to the mother or father of the "ill-educated and blabbed" child.
Explaining what a breakdown is and why it happens, you can resort to the analogy of different game consoles. Here is the Xbox, Wii, and Play Station. But if you try to run a game designed for Xbox on Wii, the system does not recognize it. So that's our brain. Each one is different, and what is good for one may be bad for the other. The brain may refuse to play according to rules that do not suit him, and if it is too loaded, it will freeze and it will need a reboot and rest. The same thing happens with the overloaded brain of a child with autism. A breakdown is such a reboot.