People With Autism Also Love, Feel And Fight For Their Dreams

It is a more than ideal time to reflect on something: the inclusion of people with autism has not yet been achieved, we still do not attend to all their needs and potential; And what is even more serious, the population still does not understand what children or adults with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are like

It was in 2007 when the United Nations General Assembly decided to establish a date to emphasize the need to contribute to the improvement of the day-to-day life of these people. The purpose is to  promote not only their integration, but also that each one of them, within their broad uniqueness, can fully enjoy society, life, their dreams.

We cannot forget that this neurological and developmental condition is within a wide spectrum. There will be people with more severe limitations in terms of communication and autonomy and there are boys and girls with Asperger’s who have remarkable intellectual skills.

People with autism in an increasingly complex world

The word “autistic” is used pejoratively. With it, the classic person far from reality is designated. We forget that a human being is not a label and that there is a great variability of manifestations of this neurological condition.

One that affects thousands of people who, even having reached adulthood, have not yet received the diagnosis and are unaware that they too fall within the spectrum.

One example, the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) conducted an investigation to discover the incidence of this disorder in the population. In 2008, it was estimated that 1 in 88 children would have this condition. A part of them would present barely perceptible traits and behaviors, others are quickly identified, either by the family or in the school itself.

On the other hand, to this day, we still do not know why on certain occasions, a baby develops such a particular brain structure. One in which there is hyperconnectivity, an excess of neuronal bodies in the white matter, excessively dense and deep dendrite branches …

All this shapes a brain with language problems, with alterations in executive processes such as attention, problems in sociability, in addition to a clear sensory hypersensitivity.

Now, within those neurological singularities with greater or lesser incidence in each individual, there is something that we must bear in mind. People with autism are excited, feel, love, dream .. .

People with autism and the world of emotions

People with autism feel emotions like any of us. But yes, feeling is not the same as understanding. What’s more, what happens most of the time is that they feel overwhelmed by these emotional states and they don’t know how to handle them.

Likewise, they can also identify feelings in other people; however, they do not know how to react or what to do.

They pick up on social cues, but they don’t understand them. They observe, but fail to see or understand what is expected of them in certain circumstances. But that does not mean that they do not feel them. Nor does it mean that they are incapable of loving or falling in love.

Because they do it, in their own way, with their language.

Autism empowerment

People with autism need social empowerment. First, to receive respect and support in those people with a more severe condition, such as Rett syndrome or Heller syndrome. Second, so that each child or adult with Asperger’s or with more or less functional autism can develop to the maximum their potential by feeling integrated.

Within this valuable group, there are individuals and families who deserve all our recognition for every effort made, for every difficulty overcome. Thus, the fact that a person does not use verbal communication, for example, does not mean that he is less intelligent or has nothing to say.

Likewise, the empowerment of people with autism needs another point of support. If we want to understand them, we have to somehow enter their world.

Many of them do not perceive autism as a disability or as a problem, because they are not broken or defective. They are different, they have unique competences, being able to add in favor of a society that is beginning to accept diversity.