autism Flashcards
Autism as a condition was first described in the early 1940s by Leo Kanner in the US, and Hans Asperger in Austria.
They both described children who struggled to interact with others, needed to follow rules and routines, and showed repetitive behaviour.
what percentage of autistic people also have learning difficulties
30%
do more men or women have autism and what can affect this ratio
More men than women have a diagnosis of autism, although the ratio has decreased over time. It is now thought that a large part of this discrepancy is due to women being often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed
what is the percentage of autism diagnosis in the population
Rates of autism diagnosis have increased and are now estimated at 1.5% of the population
In summary, autistic people:
view the world differently and often like it to make sense from their perspective
exhibit unique talents and gifts
see things that other people don’t
have different ways of managing things
can struggle with basic day-to-day activities
are sometimes diagnosed in early years, others not until adulthood
what are the 2 diagnostic criteria for autism
- social and communication
- sensory and behaviour
explain what the 2 diagnostic criteria of autism are
social and communication = persistent difficultieswith social communication and social interaction (e.g unable to read ppls emotions)
sensory and behaviour = restricted and repeated patterns of behaviour, activites or interest (e.g sensory needs)
sensory differences involve all the senses, including interception (the sense of the internal state of the body), proprioception (the sense of the position of the body), balance and pain
sensory differences can include hypersensitivity (being more sensitive than usual), hyposensitivity (being less sensitive than usual), sensations being extremely pleasant or extremely unpleasant
sensory sensitivities are not universal, for example, one autistic person may be hypersensitive to a stimulus that has no effect on another
hypersensitivity can lead to sensory overload, which is extremely distressing and can impact on ability to function
sensory differences can lead to difficulty in processing information as there is too much or too little coming in
autistic people tend to have great difficulty in filtering out and making sense of sensory information
all sensory sensitivities can become far worse under stress
In summary, some autistic people:
may prefer to communicate in a variety of ways, including but not limited to spoken speech, writing, apps or pictures
can find telephone communication difficult
are non-verbal, meaning they do not speak. This can be their normal state of being or a temporary result of stress
will speak clearly and directly
may need help from care workers or family members to communicate
might carry a hospital passport to help describe individual communication needs
In summary:
autistic body language is often different to non-autistic body language. Do not assume you can read theirs or they yours
distress or sensory overload can lead to a fight/flight/freeze response. If this happens, step back and minimise interaction until it passes
many autistic people stim as a self-calming mechanism. This can involve hand flapping, fidgeting, rocking, pacing and many other forms. Do not try and stop this unless it is leading to harm to others or themselves
In summary, some autistic people:
can find changes to routines very distressing
may have trouble initiating tasks and need prompting
How much shorter is the life expectancy of autistic people with a learning disability compared with non-autistic people
Autistic people with a learning disability die on average 30 years younger than non-autistic people.
Also, autistic people without a learning disability die on average 12 years younger.
Partially, this is due to co-occurring conditions such as epilepsy. Unfortunately, barriers in accessing healthcare influence this even more.
what percentage of autistic people have mental illness
That’s not quite correct.
Nearly 80% autistic people have a mental illness.
Unfortunately, it is often very difficult for autistic people to access mental health services and get the adjustments they need.o9
Sensory issues and rigidity can cause great amounts of stress if adaptations are not in place, and they are often isolated or treated badly by the people around them.
Autism is a neurological condition that affects people on a spectrum of severity. remember there is no high or low on the spectrum, just varied symptoms
what are the 3 legal obligations that define how to make healthcare environments as accessible as possible for autism
- equality act 2010 (autism is under disability)
- human rights act 1988
- mental capacity act 2005 (right to make decisions for themselves over 16)
If an autistic person behaves in a way that your service would normally find unacceptable, can they be banned from the service under zero tolerance rules? and why
no
There needs to be a balance between the human rights of those providing the service and the Equality Act rights of people with autism.
The service should first consider whether reasonable adjustments could enable the autistic person to access the service in a way which is compatible with the rights of staff and others.
