Finding Heroism in Autism

Rams said my mind was a poster board, plain but running with too many colours, too many motion. According to him, everything I saw got easily magnetised to my mind till all I really saw was nothing. But he could also see that something stood at the core of my mind. Two things, actually. Like the two ventricles of the heart, these nuclei prevented the many things I saw but couldn't take in from clamping my mind. But these two cores, they couldn't stand the sight of each other. I hardly knew what Rams meant by all these. But everything in me knew he was right.

Wikimedia by Scott Vaughan CC BY SA 2.0

HI Friends,

These scraggly lines are from some unpublished novel I recently wrote. You might not exactly get the plot line of the story from these words, but you definitely would might perceive a contrast, a conflict of interest within the mind of the character. Two cores, Two ventricles, Two wars, One soul. Only few persons can know the feeling of this; only few minds are embattled in such manner. We have mentally disturbed people in this category, we have those facing illnesses larger than life itself, we have financially ridden people. But on top of the list, we have those on the Autistic spectrum disorder. There is a whole lot of worlds to travel when it comes to discussing autism. But I will just do a brief examining of the syndrome and symptoms of autism; the struggles and then, the success stories. So, hang in there.

Autism: Definition and Signs

Before anything else, it must be noted that autism is not a single condition. It is a string of several conditions bound by one connecting thread. While all forms of autism are different in their manifestations, the one thing that is prevalent is the fact that those on the autistic spectrum have challenges with their skills revolving around their social and communal lives. Often, repetitive behaviors, speech defects and the recessiveness of certain needed skills are very much the norm with autistic persons. What this means is they normally find it difficult to interact with people leading to their being ostracized on many occasions. And when they do manage to say a few words, they do not make eye contacts and they can go on repeating words or doing something for a long time. Also, they lack the basic skill set needed to get by in life like every other person. And no, autism does not disfigure a child's face or automatically fit into the class of imbecilism or down syndrome. Those with autism are actually very cute.

True enough, autism is a mental disorder which usually can be diagnosed in a person as early as 18 months or 2 to 3 years. And expectedly, every one in 59 to 100 children are diagnosed with the disorder. Out of these numbers, many more are usually nonverbal up till adult age, and they live with one intellectual disability or another. However they are also proclived towards having quite enviable strengths. For instance, a form of autism called autistic savantism categorises those autists who, in lieu of their bad people skills, are extraordinarily talented in one area or another, be it music, mathematics or art.

Wikimedia by Andwhatsnext CC BY SA 3.0 - Funny, right?

The signs of autism are very much centered around the delay in certain developmental traits. Take for example, the famous YouTube family with three autistic boys, Ian and co. Each of the boys were professionally diagnosed with autism at an early stage when it was noticed that they didn't babble at 4 months or show any sign of speaking at 1 or 2 years. Going forward, the boys started experiencing meltdowns which included signs like stomping their feet, slamming their head against soft pads, crying inconsolably, throwing tantrums, repeating an action etc. This signs become more aggravated as the child refuses to speak or does not speak coherently even at age three. Then, they find it difficult to understand what people around imply by their actions. An autistic child can't tell whether a laugh is either sarcastic or humorous. And their reaction to noise is very epic. Although, they can be huge generators of noises with all the tantrums they make, they do not like it when noise gets to their ears. The same goes for too much of a bright light. It's a no-brainer for them.

Autism: Causes, Struggles and Successes

The causes of autism are largely unknown. Not because there have been no studies on them, but due to the wide spread of environmental, biological or genetic factors that generally lead to autism, it had been difficult to pinpoint one or two causes. But generally, it has been agreed upon that abnormal genes coupled with some other circumstantial incidents leik lack of oxygen at birth or chemical imbalance largely contribute to autism. And then, a familial link to someone having one mental condition or another like manic depression or repetitive behavioral traits is yet another cause.

Wikipedia by the National Institute of Mental Health Public Domain Licensed

On a more general note, a child that is grazed with any of these genome defects is prone to having autism: Rubella (German measles) in the pregnant mother; Untreated phenylketonuria (PKU, that is, lack of appropriate enzymes for metabolism); Fragile X syndrome (a common inherited form of intellectual disability); Encephalitis (brain inflammation) and Tuberous sclerosis (benign tumors growing in the brain as well as in other vital organs).

Also, many people have also induced that there are vaccine induced autism. Several parents like those of Melinda's have taken to YouTube to show how a vaccine gone wrong had turned an seemingly normal child into an autistic one. Scientists have expressed the possibility of this by confirming that the presence of thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative used in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, can lead to autism. But this claim is not totally founded.

The connection of autism to genetic disorders mean that besides the display of social deficiencies, those with high functioning autism are prone to other defects like gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, skin defects like severe itching and blotching, seizures, sleep disturbances, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety and phobias. Also, they are plagued by what is called Pica, that is, eating things that are not edible in the least. So yes, they have a plate full of struggles and pains.

Wikimedia by Merissa Woland CC BY SA 3.0- Autism Awareness Ribbon

But then, autistic people are one of the weirdly loyal and awesome people you can meet. When they are calm, they prove to be funny, easy going and sometimes fun to watch or even be with. And though they hardly form loyalties or give themselves over to stable friendships or relationships, when they eventually do, they try hard to keep it. Even at birth, autistic children form a deep, tight connection with one or both of their parents. Although, they show their attachments in weird ways, it is often hard to miss it. This also applies to romantic relationships. An autist, especially those brooding the Asperger's syndrome, might pretty much find it difficult to have sex due to strong aversions to body contacts, but they love their partners nonetheless.

What I particularly like is despite their limitations, most autists, even those who are rarely savants, take time out to do something beyond them. They are special in their own way and they have contributed to the underlying success stories in the world. Let me end with these lines by Sef Scott, a high school graduate, who despite being on the autistic spectrum and having a social communication defect, broke through all limitations and gave an 'unexpected', challenging speech before a large crowd:

Unexpected, that is what I want you to remember. Unexpected....Yes, I have autism but I am also smart, right?... Remember if you are following in someone's footsteps, you will only get where they want to go. Be the unexpected like me. Do the unexpected for the benefits of others. Live the unexpected... Best wishes to you all.

References

http://www.mychildwithoutlimits.org/understand/autism/what-causes-autism/

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism

https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/symptoms