2 April is World Autism Awareness Day!

What is autism?

• Autism is a kind of brain disorder that causes children with autism to experience the world differently from other people. More boys than girls have autism.
• Children with autism may have difficulty making friends because they find it difficult to read gestures and body language. They can't seem to tell if another person is sad or angry or happy. They often do not know the right thing to say or do when they are with other people, and usually find it hard to carry on a proper conversation. They prefer to play by themselves most of the time. They can be deeply fascinated by certain objects (such as things which spin), sounds (such as the hum of the air-conditioner) or topics (such as bus routes). A fixed routine is important to them. If their routine is distributed, they may get extremely angry and upset.
• Children with autism are sometimes very good at doing certain things, such as arithmetic, drawing maps, playing the piano or memorizing telephone numbers. With the right help, most children with autism can be taught how to talk to, play and live with other people in a meaningful way.
• But all children with autism are different from each other, just like all children without autism are different from each other.

Tips

• Be patient - after you speak to a person with autism, give him or her some time to think and respond.
• Speak clearly and literally. For example, say “it is raining heavily” and not “it is raining cats and dogs.”
• Stay calm, even when the person with autism shows signs of distress