autism

Autism is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder with persistent deficits in social communication and interactions across multiple contexts. It includes several hallmark symptoms such as verbal delays or complete lack of spoken language, difficulty communicating non-verbally and impairment in social-emotional recipricity, and inability to use multiple social behaviors such as eye contact, facial expression and associated gestures. Additionally, autistic children often fail to develop peer relationships, lack social interest and don't seek to share enjoyment with others. They often develop restricted or repetitive patterns of behavior, such as fixated interests, insistence on sameness, and stereotyped motor movements.

Understanding the culture of autism is key to helping these children develop sensory tolerance, especially in dealing with non-preferred input styles and stimulation. For example, knowing a child's preference for processing visual information as compared with auditory and language processing helps parents and therapists develop individualized treatment plans that are structured to meet the needs of each child. Also, understanding that autistic children focus on details, but have difficulty combining ideas and understanding how those details fit together helps parents and teachers organize a structured environment which minimizes distractions and interference. Helping these children shift attention and make smooth transitions between tasks is one of the challenges to therapy, but also serves as a crucial tool for sustaining attention and developing tolerance for non-preferred activities. Incorporating the use of visual supports to help sequence daily activities and simplify individual tasks allows for greater focus and control over distractions in the environment.

To learn more, have a look at these resources:

http://autismnavigator.com/
https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/video-glossary/