April is Autism Awareness month (April 2nd was world autism awareness day). I want to raise awareness about one particular aspect of autism – sensory processing disorder. This affects everyone with autism as well as many with other disabilities. It is ‘invisible’; you will not know it straight off.  It means seeing, feeling, hearing touching and tasting in a different way. I want to show you a video that my husband Robert made to help explain what it might be like for Stephen to go shopping, the type of sensory overload he might experience and why he often finds it stressful. Please take a look, it takes about 30 seconds, and is probably better to watch in full screen and watch out it is loud:

Autism is a spectrum disorder so it can affect you in a very mild way, all the way to severe. And given that we are all human beings, every individual with autism is different. Most individuals with autism have difficulties in the following areas; social emotional, language, communication and using their imagination. We know that many super intelligent/genius individuals also have autism. We also know that autism can mean that the person has complex needs and needs constant support. This is the case for our son Stephen.

As mentioned above, one aspect of autism that affects everyone on the spectrum whether mild or severe and that is something called sensory processing disorder. So for Stephen this means his senses do not ‘integrate’ together as they do for the rest of us. As you read this, you can suppress noises around you; you can feel the chair/floor under you; and your eyes give you visual messages as to where you are. For Stephen, he cannot discriminate noises effectively, some colours move for him, and he feels the world as if he has rubber gloves on. As you can imagine, going to a busy supermarket or going for a haircut can be stressful and overwhelming for him. Often Stephen’s way of communicating that he is struggling (meltdown/temper tantrum) looks like bad behaviour. Stephen has limited speech and it is difficult for him to tell us what is bothering him.

At least 1% of our population has autism spectrum disorder. This number taken together with their families, friends and professionals working directly in the field of autism means at least 5% of the general population know/work directly with an individual with autism. This is not some strange rare disability related condition; it impacts everyone with or without autism across public health, social, equality, human rights, educational, political, economic, tax, and environmental policies. But most of all it is about a person and a family living in their local community.

There is someone in your neighbourhood/community with autism. Please don’t be scared, their behaviour may look ‘weird’ but it is because they are different. Please do say ‘hello’. Next time you see them flapping their hands while out and about, it may be because they have just heard a noise that possibly you did not even hear – it could be the sound of a drill or an engine. Please do show kindness and understanding to the family/carer. The sibling may have just had their Lego creation destroyed; the Mum may have just come from another speech therapy appointment or school meeting to discuss behaviour problems.

There is a place for us all in this world and we are all here for a reason. Please reach out your hand to individuals with all disabilities and their families and give them your help and support.

Best wishes always,
Avril