The 2016 Denver Autism Conference was conducted to bring more light to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It is a mental health condition that affects a person’s communication skills, interests, and behavior. The most common symptoms of ASD is a learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tic disorders, generalized anxiety disorder, and depression. We may have a distinct idea of autism, but besides it being a mental health disorder, there are things we should know about ASD.
5 Things We Should Know About Autism Spectrum Disorder:
- Autism affects teens’ behavior and social skills. They may appear distant and disinterested in having conversations or doing fun activities, but we should understand it doesn’t mean they don’t want to. They do love their families. ASD just makes things look differently.
- Parents should never be blamed for children having ASD. It is not about parenting. Back then people think that it has something to do with the nurturing, but through time, science proved that parenting could not be a cause of ASD.
- ASD can be associated with other conditions such as social and language skills problem, intellectual disability, sleep issues, ADHD, and gastrointestinal problems.
- There are some ways we can do to help teens with autism, and since technology is everywhere, we can use it to aid non-verbal children or teens with ASD.
- We should never forget that teens with autism are still teens. Just like everyone else at the same age, they feel different and complicated emotions too, but they may not have the ability to express it adequately.
It is hard enough to understand the people around us. What more for people with ASD? They require a different kind of patience and attention. The 2016 Denver Autism Conference discussed the things we often forget when dealing with an autism spectrum disorder.
