Each Person With Autism Has Own Personality
Latrica Best - Guest Columnist
07/30/2000
| The word "autism" has become prevalent in our society, particularly over the last decade. Through the film "Rain Man" and the media appearances of celebrities, the disorder has received much deserved attention from the public. It is not uncommon to see television and magazine ads encouraging citizens to support organizations such as the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, which is named after Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie's son, who is living with the disorder. |
| As our society depends upon these forms of information for autism awareness, we have to question whether the heightened receptivity to autism is a direct result of misguided knowledge. The media have, in general, done a good job of informing the public. Many people are aware of the disorder now. But is the community actually getting the right information on autism and other developmental and mental disorders? |
| For more than a year, I have been a community skills instructor for the Autism Society of North Carolina. My job is to make sure that my client, a 10-year-old Chapel Hill boy, is comfortably adjusted in the community. This means that he can safely function and do things just like everyone else, even though he may have a difficult time understanding what society calls basic living skills. |
| While together, we may go to the mall, go swimming or go grocery shopping. In addition to our outings, I assist my friend in learning new words, preparing meals for his family and many other tasks that will allow him to become a self-sufficient adult within our community. |
| I find my work extremely rewarding; my client's ability to bake a cake for his sister's birthday or his conveyance and understanding of a new phrase has helped me realize that social support from fellow community members does make a difference in his life. |
| However, as a worker in the public service sector, I often face stigma from people in the community. On numerous occasions when asked what I do, people respond with phrases such as, "Oh, he's like that guy on 'Rain Man' " or "He's just mentally retarded, right?" Close friends of mine have even told me that I have a relatively easy job, seeing that I only baby-sit kids. Obviously, more knowledge needs to be distributed among the community than the average person can find in the media. |
| Autism is a developmental disorder; a person does not have to be considered mentally ill to be autistic. Occurring during the first three years of life, autism affects approximately 1 in 500 people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in 1997. Autism is four times more likely to occur in boys than in girls. |
| The disorder often makes a significant impact on an individual, as normal brain development in the area of social interaction and communication skills slowly disintegrates. As a result, verbal and nonverbal social interaction often proves to be difficult. Hence, learning how to enjoy leisure activities becomes a must for my friend. Playing games with classmates and taking turns on the playground take much practice for someone who has difficulty communicating with the "outside world." |
| In order to cope, people living with autism often rely on repetition in every aspect of their lives. Whether it's eating the same meal every day or performing chores in an exact, sequential manner, people coping with autism will adamantly resist changes in their routines. Repetition can also be seen in repeated body movements, such as hand flapping or body rocking. These motions can unfortunately lead to aggressive and injurious behavior not only to autistic people, but to others as well. |
| The Autism Society of America characterizes autism as a spectrum disorder. No two individuals in our society are the same, just as every person with autism has unique qualities and characteristics. One individual living with autism may be vocally expressive and seemingly normal. However, another autistic person may be unresponsive and quite oblivious to his surroundings. |
| With the multitude of developmental paths an autistic individual may follow, caring for these people becomes extremely difficult. Regardless of the training provided to me through sessions by the Autism Society of North Carolina, I still was not prepared for the daily obstacles that awaited me. Likewise, my experiences with my 10-year-old friend did not completely prepare me for the behaviors of other children and even adults who are living with autism. |
| From my experiences, I have found that while each individual with autism behaves differently, the person responds to the actions and behaviors of his environment. Similarly, the community does shape the personality of most human beings. Thus, it's fairly reasonable to conclude that people dealing with developmental disorders respond to how others treat them. |
| Others often ask me why I even bother to do this type of work, since I do not have familial ties to the developmental disorder. I do this service, because I truly feel that I have something valuable to offer my friend: kindness and understanding. |
| In fact, I would not exactly call what I do a service. I am doing something that I advise every community member to do; we as human beings should first offer friendship and then form opinions about how an individual is as a person. |
| Latrica E. Best is a senior with a sociology and biology double major at UNC. She is a summer intern at the Mental Health Association in Orange County. In addition to her work there, she is a community skills instructor at the Autism Society of North Carolina. She is a guest columnist for the association's monthly column, which is printed on the last Sunday of each month. |
