Taking a Different Perspective on Autism

To many who come across autism in passing, it may be considered a disability through which people are rendered in some way unable to function as "normal" people and thus (this part is usually unconscious) perhaps "less valuable" than those who do not have autism.

As the parent of a child with autism, I would suggest the reality is starkly different.

From what I’ve observed, the most obvious difference in the experience of autistic people is the degree of sensitivity. For an autistic person, opening the curtains on a moderately sunny morning might feel like having a very bright flashlight shone directly into their eyes at close range; a plate falling onto the kitchen floor might sound as disturbing as standing next to loud drilling on a building site without any earmuffs. The National Autistic Society has produced this short but powerful film to give us a glimpse of what it can feel like to constantly experience this sort of sensory overload.

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To finish reading the full story, visit The Mighty website: https://themighty.com/2016/11/autism-as-a-strength/.