Autism is a highly individualized diagnosis
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Understanding the diagnosis can be tricky, and comparing one person with autism to another is a futile occupation. If you, your child, or someone you know is diagnosed with autism, you may recognize some of these characteristics listed above, but they won’t all apply.
Autism is a bit of a “Catch-All” diagnosis to refer to people who demonstrate delays in social skills and restricted behavior to the extent that it impacts their ability to learn certain skills from the natural environment. Other than that, each person is simply who they are: special, unique individuals just like everyone else with their own learning style, sense of humor, strengths, goals, beliefs, and interests. Someone with autism might seem different because they might behave in ways others are unfamiliar with, but let’s face it: everyone is different. Some of us just choose to hide that side of ourselves that falls outside the norm. There is nothing “wrong” with someone who has autism. It is referred to as a “developmental disability” because in order to be diagnosed with autism, the individual is struggling to learn some skills from the natural environment. This simply means that the person should be taught those particular skills in different ways. This is where ABA comes in. When done correctly, an ABA program can help fill in the areas the person is struggling with, and work with the family or inside the educational environment to support the person in ways that will allow them to be more successful. |
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