Understanding Autism

     Autism affects one in every 68 children in the United States (Nordqvist). It is, in fact, the fastest growing disability not only in America but in the whole world! Why is it, then, that we know so little about autism?
     The effects of having a member of the family with autism can be tragic when those families who lack proper support and understanding of those around them (Effects of Autism). Society does not know enough about this widespread disorder. Lack of understanding and misinformation on the topic will not only affect autistic persons but will also disturb the well being of families with autistic individuals, which does spread from a personal to a global scale. 
     Extensive research in all areas of this topic point to primarily one key issue: lack of understanding.  In a study titled “Global Perspectives on Autism” 60 researchers and practitioners from around the globe contributed to a collection of studies aimed towards addressing the needs of those with autism around the world. Analysts of several countries including India, Mexico, Africa and South Korea all reported that “the impact of raising a child with autism extends into schools and the wider community with little awareness of autism and some negative experiences of discrimination.” (Global Perspectives). A national profile of autism discovered that “children with autism spectrum disorder were more likely to have unmet needs for specific health care services” than children with other disorders. A report on the state impact of autism shows that “autism is the fastest growing special education eligibility category for public education in California and the nation”(Around the World). Despite researchers revealing that there is now an increasingly high demand for the expansion services for autistic students statewide, the report shows that these services are “in no way commonly provided”(Around the World). This is one of many reasons why the understanding, acceptance and further support for people with autism should be advocated. It will not hurt anyone to learn more about autism. It will, however, provide a better environment for those with autism if they are globally and locally supported. 
     I openly admit that I was hesitant to interview different denominations’ perspectives on my senior project, thinking that my topic had nothing to do with religious worldviews. Boy, was I wrong! Not only were these interviews insightful, they were also incredibly eye-opening as to why we need to understand more about autism. The three different questions I asked each person I interviewed are as follows: First, “Are autistic people equal to others in God’s eyes?" Secondly, “Would it benefit your church to better understand the needs of autistic people in order to minister to them?” Lastly, “Do you have a ministry program for people with autism?”. A Mainline Protestant speaker of First United Methodist Church agreed that autistic people are equal to everyone else in God’s eyes because “He created everyone”. They also told me that “nobody fully understands autism” and a better understanding of it would be beneficial to their church. They also clarified that their church does not have an outreach program for autistic people. A Roman Catholic administrator of St. Isidore Catholic Church had similar views to the first church I interviewed. They said that autistic people are equal to others in the eyes of the Lord because we are “all God’s children”. The second question was met with confusion in regards of “where to start”. For the final query, I was pleased to hear that their “church does have a group of parent volunteers that teach special needs children about their faith”.  Another speaker from the Eastern Orthodox Church concurred that “autistic people are equal to others in the eyes of God.” They also acknowledged that it would “be beneficial for their church to know more about autism”. Lastly, they affirmed that they do not have an outreach program for autistic people. The most shocking interview I had was with an anonymous speaker of an Evangelical Church. He confessed to me that he felt unequipped to answer questions about autism on behalf of his church because he “didn’t understand enough on the topic”.  All denominations agreed that each human life is sacred and should be treated with dignity and that they would benefit from understanding more about autism. However, not a single church I interviewed has an outreach program that is specifically aimed towards autistic individuals.    
     It is already challenging enough that someone with autism will most likely have difficulty trying to fit in and make sense of their surroundings. However, the real struggling occurs when they are surrounded by people who lack understanding of their world. Autistic individuals commonly develop stress-reducing behaviors that can make them appear strange or unruly. As a result of a mass misunderstanding, they are judged by others for behaving ‘oddly’ or being ‘weird’. Parents may even avoid taking their autistic child out to public places rather than face the reactions from people who do not understand their condition; this may cause the child with autism and their family to become housebound and isolated, which has a profound effect on their social and emotional well being (Effects of Autism).
     Parents of an autistic child who lack support, not wanting to be rejected by the outside world, will commonly avoid the rejection in the only way they see possible: by isolating themselves and their families. As a consequence, they feel guilty that their child is missing out on a ‘normal’ life and discontented not being able to give their child everything they need to thrive. In an unideal situation such as this parents may feel not only isolated but also depressed. Emotional and physical exhaustion often drowns the life of a parent who is too frightened of society judging them to reach out for help. (What is Autism)
      Siblings also suffer serious emotional effects from growing up in this kind of stressful environment; they tend to feel as if they are unable to successfully go out as a family and they may have trouble making friends due to dysfunction in their home. A very common occurrence when parents do not have enough support and are not fully equipped to oversee their autistic child is the sibling of the autistic child becomes a caretaker in an attempt to help out Mom and Dad. Siblings feel they need to and may take on the overwhelming responsibility of, essentially, growing up too young.  While they are straining to save one life, they are destroying their own. The pressure and neglect of a sibling having too many obligations are well documented to have long-term psychological effects on that sibling (Effects of Autism).
     Since families are what form society, it is society itself that is most negatively affected in misunderstanding what autism is.  The whole point of family is for kids to have an environment to learn social skills, life values and morality (Hoffman). When a family feels abandoned by the community, it can become broken and dysfunctional. In this case, not only do all members of the family miss out on living the fulfilling lives they should, but the children of this home will oftentimes not grow up in healthy environments (Effects of Autism). With fully functional families comes structure, accountability and acceptance. If you think about it, each family has its own culture. A family with an autistic child has the potential to bring some extra flamboyance and life to others when that family reaches out in communities. However, if they isolate themselves due to fear of being misunderstood or rejected, they are short-changing themselves and others. 
     I grew up with the mindset that autism should be “healed” or “changed”. My little sister, Julia, who is now 15 years old, has autism. I recall having long prayer sessions with my family for God to bring Julia healing. Now that I think about it, it is not Julia who needs changing. In actuality, it was I who needs to change my mindset. I am constantly reminded of the bible story in John chapter 9 when Jesus heals a man who had been blind from birth (Holy Bible). The man had done no wrong. The man was blind in accordance with God’s will because He wanted to use the man’s healing for His glory. A common theory to deduct from this verse is that God created people like my sister just to change them but this message is only a half-truth. God created Julia in His image to further glorify His kingdom of heaven. Genesis 1:27 clearly states that “God created mankind in His own image”. Mankind includes all people, not just those that the public considers “normal”. In Psalms 139:13 King David elaborates more on God’s creation of man by proclaiming “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.” Each delicate part of mankind was created by God. This verse can be used as a friendly reminder that God does not make mistakes! Everything the Lord does is for a purpose. Julia is loved by God just as much as any other beautiful person He has created. It is important for people to understand this if they are to support an autistic individual and their family.
     Autism is a spectrum disorder which means that no autistic person is the same (McAfee). Of course, everyone is completely unique in their own way. However, different spectrums mean that no autistic person is the same neurologically. Autism is a pervasive full-body interference that involves varying levels of disability, depending on both the situation in which an individual is placed and the expectations that are set upon them. In other words, people with autism can have rich, fulfilling lives, given the proper tools to grow (Greenspan). In this way, an autistic person is quite similar to everyone else; they simply require more tools than most people to thrive, which is why they need community support. Although autism is something a person is born with, it does not define who they are. Ignorant titles such as “retarded” that are used to label an autistic person is an injustice to who that individual truly is.  Defining someone only as “autistic” is similar to referring to someone as “fat”; it is a possibility that the person they addressed may be overweight, but it is unfair for that label to consume their identity. Each autistic person is an exclusive individual created by God who is full of personality, passions, and love just like you and me.
     “Spectrum” in ‘autism spectrum disorder’ reflects the wide variation in challenges and strengths possessed by each person with autism. Autism Spectrum Disorder, or “ASD” for short, will range in severity from a handicap that somewhat limits an otherwise normal life to a devastating disability that may require institutional care (Nordqvist). Where someone lands on the ‘spectrum’ is a guideline that shows how well an autistic person adapts to the world; this means that if an autistic individual feels too much over-stimulation they will have to find an outlet (such as a tic) in order to calm themselves down because they may feel overwhelmed. This response is not entirely different from the way the majority of people handle things. Sometimes, life can be hectic, exhausting, or stressful, and we all need an outlet. In a sense, we are all somewhere on the spectrum (DeMeritt).
     Certain qualities of people with autism, if misconstrued by others, may hinder their social life. It is sometimes difficult for an autistic person to interpret the feelings of other people. This makes it a bit of a challenge to empathize with these people. It is in this sort of situation that someone may get offended by an autistic person’s words or actions when, in reality, they are not trying to be rude in the first place. For example, once when my hair was a mess, I was sweaty from playing kickball and I was wearing a not particularly cute outfit, my sweet little sister with autism, Julia, looked straight up at me and proclaimed “Wow! You look ugly!” It is these kinds of circumstances that provide a great opportunity to kindly remind someone with autism to keep other people’s feelings in consideration. Constant positive repeats of this message will help them better connect with others. At this point, if I were to get offended by my sister rather than teach her, it would only worsen the situation.
     One way an autistic person may deal with stress is by means of performing ‘tics’(Autism and Tic Disorders). Tics (sometimes called ‘stims’) are physical or in some cases verbal actions that may seem unnatural and maybe even frightening. Due to this, tics are oftentimes shunned because they make other people feel uncomfortable and perhaps embarrass, shock or worry parents because it appears their child with ASD cannot control their actions. In reality, tics are usually voluntary movements which are extremely common in most autistic people. When a tic is prohibited or discouraged, it simply worsens an already uncomfortable situation for someone with autism because if the tic is not expressed, the urge to follow through with it does not stop. A tic is similar to having a mosquito bite in the sense that the urge to scratch it becomes even stronger the more you think about not scratching it. Julia has a stim in which she presses her lips into the crook of her elbow when she is uncomfortable. Writing this down seems strange and reading may seem even more bizarre. It is for this reason that we need to understand what tics are as to not misinterpret them. A tic, simply put, is an action done to calm oneself in an overstimulating situation. I used to get upset with Julia when she would perform those jerky movements. It seemed as if she was biting her arm and that was unbearably awkward and unsettling to watch. Until one day, when I was taking Julia for a walk. I started talking to her and she performed her stem again. Perturbed by this point, I asked her “why do you do that?” to which she responded “it makes me feel better”. It was at this point that I finally started to gain some insight into her point of view. While a tic can be interpreted as uncouth to some, it is merely a coping mechanism for others. 
     Academic as well as social and language skills development for someone with ASD will most likely be more difficult for them in comparison to the average child. Although many children with autism are intellectually impaired in some aspects, it is not uncommon for those with ASD to be exceptional at learning cognitive skills. In truth, a sizable proportion of people with autism have high IQs and a unique talent for computer science. In fact, a German software development giant called ‘Systems, Applications & Products in Data Processing’ is planning to hire hundreds of people with autism by 2020 as software testers, programmers and data quality assurance specialists (Motzkau). Sadly, many autistic individuals are oftentimes socially isolated. This is upsetting because social developmental growth is every bit as important as growing academically. The deficiency of social development for autistic persons is oftentimes a result of poor understanding of their disorder. 
     The ultimate key to understanding autism is fighting the myths that tend to surround it (Karidis). First and foremost, simply because people with autism may not express their feelings in the same way we do does not mean they do not experience the same feelings we do. An autistic individual feels sadness, pain, love and happiness just as we do; regardless of the possibility that they may imply it differently than us. They can, without a doubt, feel the way we do whether or not they express their feelings the in the same way as us. Since autism is frequently paired with negative connotations, it is important to understand the ‘sunny side of the spectrum’ instead of dwelling on the unideal. For instance, when Julia made an unfavorable remark on my appearance, instead of feeling gloomy I appreciated her honesty, showered and changed my outfit. We should make it our goals to find the beauty in people rather than the flaws.
     Throughout this report, we have seen that ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the understanding of autism. We have detected that if an autistic individual's behavior is misperceived, it will usually affect the well being of them and their families. It has also been revealed that the needs of autistic people have not been adequately fulfilled in public schools near us and around the world. We can also recognize that although the churches interviewed in this paper agree that God loves autistic people just as much as He adores everyone else, they do not have specific ministries for them. We can also note that there is confusion in regards to the facts and myths of autism. It is for all these reasons that I encourage you to get involved in autism-friendly events and educational activities that will take place in April for Autism Awareness Month. Several functions that will take place in April are quick and easy to learn about on reliable sites such as autism-society.org and autismspeaks.org. Promoting these events will support autism awareness, provide inclusion, and bolster self-determination for those with ASD. Getting involved is an assurance that each person with autism is provided with the opportunity to achieve the highest possible quality of life. 

Works Cited

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 Greenspan, Stanley I., and Serena Wieder. Engaging Autism. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2009. Print.
Hoffman, Jan. “Along the Autism Spectrum, a Path Through Campus Life.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Nov. 2016
 Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2015.
 Karidis, Arlene. “How to Help Children with Autism.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
McAfee, Jeanette. Navigating the Social World: A Curriculum for Individuals with Asperger's Syndrome, High Functioning Autism and Related Disorders: Future Horizons, 2013. Print.
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 Nordqvist, Christian. "What Is Autism?" Medicalnewstoday. Healthline Media, 11 June 2015. Web. 8 Jan. 2017.
 "WHAT IS AUTISM?" myautism.org. American Autism Association, 2016. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
“Your Religious Community.” Autism Speaks, Autism Speaks Inc, 24 July 2012. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.