Autism affects how someone experiences and interacts with the world around them, it is a is a lifelong developmental disability.
Everyone has different strengths and challenges and because autism is a spectrum condition it affects people in lots of different ways.
Autism is a neurological developmental disorder, not an illness, disease or medical condition.
There is no cure for it.
It just means the brain works in a different way.
- Signs of autism may first appear at a very early age.
- If someone is autistic, they are autistic for their whole life.
- Being on the autistic spectrum does not stop someone from having a good life.
- Just like everyone else, people on the autistic spectrum have things that they are good at as well as things they struggle with.
- They can make friends, have relationships and a job, but they may need help with these things and other aspects of daily life.
Autism is a spectrum. Each person with autism is different. Some people will need little or no support. Others may need help every day.
Because autism is a spectrum everyone with autism is affected differently.
It is not true that everyone with autism will have a special talent or gift like being able to play a musical instrument or remember everything they see or read.
However, they may have a special interest which absorbs most of their thoughts or attention. This could be something you consider to be a normal hobby or it could be a very specific focus such as an individual item, film or piece of music.
Autism is more common than most people think.
There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK which is more than 1 in 100. People from all nationalities and cultural, religious and social backgrounds can be autistic.
More men and boys are currently diagnosed as autistic than women and girls.
Watch this short video (2.41) produced by The National Autistic Society called “What is Autism”.
With all our videos, you can use the subtitles or transcript if you need to see the words. You can also use Google Translate to help you if you need support to understand any of the words.
16% of autistic people and their families think the public understand autism in a meaningful way. We want to change this and create a society that works for autistic people, and with your help, we can. Share our new film, ‘What is autism?’ this #AutismAwarenessWeek, narrated by our ambassador, Alan Gardner.
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