The following is written by Dakota Coleman:
Have you ever thought, “Why is that kid acting like that? He looks stupid doing that weird gesture with his hands.” or “Ugh, he talks too much about one thing, I’ll just ignore him.” If you said “Yes.” to any of these questions, you might want to stop and listen closely, because today, my friends, we’re going to talk about Behaviors of Autism and Asperger’s. And how people are interacting, it is a big concern for the safety of these peers.
Autism (or similarly, Asperger’s, which is part of the same spectrum) is a disability in people that in some cases, can be observed, or not so much. People of all sexes and races can contain this kind of disability, it is not a thing that can be separated from the other. The behaviors noticed in these peers who have it include:
● Not understanding how other people are feeling.
● Being separated, hard to gain friends or, in some cases, trust.
● Always perform tasks on a specific routine(or schedule), and get upset if that routine is
not followed in order, or not at all.
● Find it hard to understand sarcasm, (or sometimes, jokes).
And yet, not everyone treats them all with proper responses or actions, whether they try
to, or not. By doing this, this can make a negative impact in this community, and even
life-threatening. Instead of doing this, try these exercises:
● Be patient with actions or responses to questions.
● Even if the person is doing something wrong, always address it to them with no
aggression, so it’s easier to make them understand.
● Always be respectful and kindly teach, the person might not even know they are
being rude, don’t yell at them or do anything aggressive, that will only teach them to do
the same.
● Show love and affection: Most peers would give hugs or make physical contact to show
their love and kindness to other people, don’t assume that they are creeps and make a
big problem out of it, just politely tell them to not do it.
● Don’t talk negatively about that person, or make fun of them, they can get hurt very
easily, which will affect the way they act around others.
These behaviors will be even more common to see in public, and areas all around you.
The percentage of Autism and Asperger’s in the population is increasing dramatically, which is a
fact that the majority of peers need to know and acknowledge.
According to the official site of the CDC, the percentage of children aged 3-17, who have been
diagnosed with this disability, has increased from 16.2% in 2009-2011, to 17.8 in 2015-2017.
Also, according to this study, more boys are diagnosed with this disability than girls alone. Many
people are trying to develop social groups where peers can join and unite with others, (My father
is one of them with his robotics and engineering club) so that diagnosed peers wouldn’t feel so isolated and lonely.
So, the next time you see someone acting what others call “Unusual or strange” instead,
think how ”Unique “and ”Special” (positively) they are. Get to know that person, and understand
the struggles that they are facing, and who knows, you might even make a new friend, and not
only would you brighten his/her day, but even yourself. I hope you learned from this, and I hope
you have a great day!
God Bless.
