YB SPECIAL NEEDS
86 | JULY & AUGUST 2019
AMONG A PARENT’S many hopes and
dreams for their child’s future, the notion
that their little one will be loved and
accepted, not only by family members
but by society at large, is often taken for
granted.
But, for children on the autism spectrum,
being loved – and accepted – by society
is a tall order, as our largely conservative
modern world struggles to accept that
certain people are simply wired differently.
In theory, autism spectrum disorder and
autism are general terms for a group of
complex disorders of brain development.
Being “on the spectrum” means that
you suffer from a neurodevelopmental
condition, where the brain operates
differently to that of
a typical person.
In life, people with autism are
neurodiverse. They don’t fit into the
societal mould of what is deemed to
be normal.
“Autistic children think differently,
play differently and feel differently. Their
sensory profile is different to that of a
typical person.
“They regulate their emotions
differently, and they communicate
differently. But this doesn’t mean that
they’re not communicating at all,” explains
Vicky Lamb, the national education
facilitator for non-profit organisation
Autism South Africa (ASA).
AN ADULT CASE STUDY
Emile Gouws was four-and-a-half years
old when he was diagnosed with low-
support autism. At the time, he only
played with children he was familiar
with. He did not make eye contact and
was, at times, aggressive. Further, due to
low muscle tone, he couldn’t participate
in school sports. He was non-verbal and
uncommunicative until the age of 14.
“It was a major challenge for me to
communicate with people in a group,”
says Emile, whose autism affected his
speech. Nevertheless, his parents put
him in a mainstream primary school
before he attended a remedial high
school. Emile is now a 26-year-old
teacher, a PhD student at the University
of Pretoria and on the ASA’s national
executive council.
While autism still affects the speed at
which he gets work done, he notes that
perseverance, dedication and the right
support structure helped him succeed
in his academic career.
Emile still experiences sensory
challenges in overpopulated
environments and gets overwhelmed in
noisy shopping centres, but he functions
well in mainstream society and is
achieving his goals despite being wired
differently. His wish for the future? For
people to learn to accept those who are
neurodiverse and “different” to them.MORE THAN A DIAGNOSIS
Most autistic children are seen as
naughty, uncooperative and even
intellectually disabled, which may not
always be the case, as with Emile.
In fact, many autistic children, even
those who are non-verbal, have average
or above-average intelligence. “Instead
of calling autism a disorder, many
autistic people prefer to see it as
a condition,” Vicky says.
She adds that the autism spectrum is
clinically viewed by medical doctors as
a linear progression from low support
to high support.
So, for the sake of diagnosis, an
autistic person falls into one of three
categories: Level 1, Level 2 or
Level 3, where Level 1 is the least
severe form of autism, requiring the
least amount of support, and Level 3 is
the most severe, requiring a high level
of support. Autism is, however, much
more complex than that. According to
The Art of Autism, an international non-
profit organisation that aims to connect
autistic people worldwide through art,
the autism spectrum should be seen as
circular rather than linear.
This describes an autistic person as
having many different traits in different
areas of the spectrum, such as language,
motor skills, perception, executive
function and sensory filters.More than the unwavering support and structure that their lives
depend on, autistic children require awareness, understanding – and
unconditional love from the world around them, writes Samantha Herbst