Orchid Vale Primary School
Autism
What is autism?
Autism (also known as ASC or ASD) is a lifelong, developmental condition that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them.
Autistic people may:
- find it hard to communicate and interact with other people
- find it hard to understand how other people think or feel
- find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful or uncomfortable
- get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events
- take longer to understand information
- do or think the same things over and over
Getting a Diagnosis
The characteristics of autism vary from one person to another, but in order for a diagnosis to be made, a person will usually be assessed as having had persistent difficulties with social communication and social interaction and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests since early childhood, to the extent that these "limit and impair everyday functioning".
Children can be diagnosed as autistic when they’re quite young, in some cases from the age of two. But not everyone is diagnosed early in life. It’s quite common for a child to not get their diagnosis until they are older, or even an adult, particularly if they don’t have accompanying learning disabilities.
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The NHS Direct website has help guides for those living with someone with autism.
Founded in 1962, we are the UK’s leading charity for autistic people and their families. Our goal is to help transform lives, change attitudes and create a society that works for autistic people.
The EarlyBird programmes provide support and training for parents, carers and families when a child within the family has been diagnosed with Autism.
