Introduction to Autism

The term "autism spectrum disorder" is a developmental disorder marked by persistent difficulties in social communication and interaction, as well as confined and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities. The autistic features were first observed 75 years ago when Leo Kanner coined the term “autism”. It took 36 years for Kanner’s “infantile autism” to be formally recognized by the American Psychiatric Association in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (APA, 1980; Kanner, 1943; The history of autism, 2021)

What Autism Can Look Like?

For a better understanding of what autism looks like and what the term "spectrum" means I totally wiped the websites like National Autistic Society and Autism Speaks. According to the umbrella term Spectrum, some persons have only a few or mild symptoms, while others have many or severe symptoms.

Autism itself is not a mental health problem, although autistic people experience mental illnesses at higher rates than neurotypical people.

Autism expert Dr. Stephen Shore, who is on the autism spectrum himself, says, “Once you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” In other words, the elements that make-up autism can be and are differently combined in every person on the spectrum. The video I've included below is a really instructive example by Rebecca Burgers on how to grasp the characteristics of people on the spectrum.

Image captured from Comic by Rebecca Burgees

What are the signs and symptoms?

Watching Documentaries are one of my favourite activities to do. I enjoy learning about diverse cultures, people's perspectives, and world experiences. I wanted to do thought-provoking user study by researching documentaries on Autism. I discovered two documentaries for my team to view.

Qualitative Research through Documentary Films

The first documentary I saw was The Reason I Jump (2020 film), which is based on the bestselling novel THE REASON I JUMP by Naoki Higashida. "Not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say," Naoki's central message in the film was from his own and non-speaking autistic people around the world. The documentary clearly causes a shift in perspective.

Another documentary, "Best Kept Secret," is told from the perspective of a Newark special needs schoolteacher. She trains her autistic students to thrive in the harsh world that awaits them after graduation.

Going through the works of other filmmakers and animators, the next video is an outstanding descriptive animation movie clip on autism that you should watch by Miriam Fox, an award-winning British animator and filmmaker.

Learnings

The major conclusion from the research into the scope of developing a museum experience for neurodiverse children is understanding their point of freedom to feel comfortable in their surroundings, assisting them with their sensorial issues, and generating curiosity about the visit without setbacks.

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Maya Angelou)

Research

(What Is Autism? | Autism Speaks, 2021)Autism Speaks. 2021. What Is Autism? | Autism Speaks. [online] Available at: <https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism>

MQ Mental Health Research. 2021. Elucidating the relationship and co-evolution of sensory reactivity and mental health symptoms in autism | MQ Mental Health Research. [online] Available at: <https://www.mqmentalhealth.org/research/elucidating-the-relationship-and-co-evolution-of-sensory-reactivity-and-mental-health-symptoms-in-autism/>

Ambitious about Autism. 2021. Special interests. [online] Available at: <https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/information-about-autism/behaviour/special-interests>
Mim-fox.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.mim-fox.com/>
Thereasonijumpfilm.com. 2021. ABOUT THE FILM – the reason i jump. [online] Available at: <https://thereasonijumpfilm.com/about/>
Autism.org.uk. 2021. The history of autism. [online] Available at: <https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/what-is-autism/the-history-of-autism>